Even though the State Government keeps claiming to be working to ensure the benefits of various Government schemes and facilities reach the last beneficiary the functioning of the Government is now under public scanner due to ground realities contradicting Government claims. The border region of Joshimath in Chamoli district has one such example ration has not been supplied here by the Food and Civil Supply department for more than a month now. With ration not being given away by the concerned Department, ration-card holders have no other option but to purchase ration from the open market at higher prices.
At a time when people bear the brunt of price rise, the woes of the people especially financially weaker families have been exacerbated with a halt in supply of ration in Government godowns. According to information from official sources, 1,000 quintals of ration are supplied to Joshimath development block every month. However, in the month of September, the BPl families here were not supplied rice while the wheat was sold at `18 per kilogram rather BPl families used to get it for `2 per kg. In October, the ration card holders have not been supplied any ration from licensed fair price shops. The anomalies in supply of ration in Joshimath are causing disquiet among the locals. Ration card holder Bhagwati Prasad Purohit complained that since ration was not available in Government licensed fair price shops, he is forced to purchase essential food items from the open market at higher rates. This has upset the budget in many families here, he added.