On strike since December 2, over ten thousand depot holders of Punjab who have been demanding fixed salaries, additional expenses including transportation cost, on Wednesday submitted memorandum to Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal who, in turn, assured them for considering their demands shortly.
Around 26,000 depot holders across the State refused to distribute wheat and pulses under state’s “New Atta Dal” scheme, launched on December 1, announcing “indefinite strike” from December 2. left with no source of income, the depot holders have decided to stage a massive rally against Punjab’s Government’s apathetic attitude towards their “genuine problems” on Wednesday. The aggrieved depot holders have also indicated for going on an indefinite hunger strike in case their demands were not met.
“We have submitted a memorandum to the Chief Minister and the Minister concerned. Chief Minister has assured us of considering our demands shortly, but we could not meet Adeish Partap Singh Kairon,” Punjab Depot Holders’ Union president Gurjinder Singh Sidhu told The Pioneer. He said: “We are only asking the State Government to give us commission that it was giving us earlier under Atta-Dal scheme for distributing food grains, but denied under the Center’s Food Security Act.”
Ruing, Sidhu said: “We have left with no source of income now, and the state’s Food and Civil Supplies Minister is threatening us to implement a system via which they would do away with depot holders and distribute ration by food inspectors. Kairon has threatened us to close down all ration depots, as a result 26,000 families would face unemployment.”
Sidhu pointed that Justice Wadhwa Committee on Public Distribution System (PDS) had recommended payment of salaries to the depot holders.
Only recently, the national vice-president of All-India Depot Holders’ Association Prahlad Modi cautioned the Punjab Government from taking “advantage” of Center’s Food Security Act, and asked them to come out with its law on the lines of public distribution system (PDS) in case it wanted to continue its Atta-Dal scheme providing wheat and pulses to the people at low prices.
He had stated that the Punjab government was taking all credit by providing wheat at Re one which it is getting at Rs two from the Center, and not providing even a penny to the depot holders. The State Government has all along been maintaining that it has sent a proposal in this regard to the Centre proposing Rs 11,800 for every depot holder, and is awaiting their response.
The depot holders’ decision has left the SAD-BJP Government red-faced which has “re-launched” its game-changer Atta-Dal scheme ‘re-branding’ Centre’s Food Security Act with much pomp and show promising wheat at Re one per kilogram and pulses at Rs 20 per kg.
Receiving support from the opposition, the depot holders have been assured by the state Congress chief Partap Singh Bajwa for taking up their demands to the Union Minister for Food and Public Distribution KV Thomas. Assuring party’s full support to the depot holders, Bajwa flayed the SAD-BJP Government for mal-treating and discriminating with 26,000 depot holders of State.