Poor families denied free ration, hold protest in Tarn Taran village

Gurbaxpuri

Tarn Taran, February 18

Poor families of Kot Dharam Chand Kalan village lodged a strong protest here on Sunday. They said they were denied free ration under the government policy today. It was pertinent to mention here that Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann recently announced that all poor families whose names have been removed from the list of the beneficiaries have been reinstated and they would be given free ration as usual.

Sukhdev Singh, Balwinder Singh and other leaders of the Punjab Khet Mazdoor Sabha, said poor families were being given free ration in the village and believing the statement of the Chief Minister, members of those families whose names were removed from the list of beneficiaries too stood in the queue to take ration. The leaders said that there were 176 families whose names were removed and they were informed by officials that their ration had not been given by the department.

The families took it as their humiliation and started a protest against the state government and the officials of the Food and Civil Supply Department. Jasjit Kaur, District Food and Supply Department, could not be contacted in spite of repeated attempts.

Devi Kumari, state leader of the Punjab Khet Mazdoor Sabha, urged the government to extend the facility to all the families otherwise the organization would have to go on the agitation path.