Unable to arrange food, women reach Kaithal mini-sectt

Satish Seth

Kaithal, April 8

A group of women from Shiv Colony, Gali No. 5, Patti Afgan, and others from Harsola Basti violated the prohibitory orders and reached the mini-secretariat here on Tuesday to bring to the notice of the administration that they were in dire need of ration.

The women said they were yet to get help from the administration. Due to lockdown, the men of the families, who were daily wagers, were sitting idle at home and their ration exhausted. They had no money to purchase things from the shops opened in their area. When they approached their respective Sarpanches, they were assured help, but they were asked to contact the nearest depot holder to get supply of wheat, rice and other items. The women said when they contacted the depot holder, they were turned away, and as they did not figure in the BPL list, he could not supply them ration.

The women said to avoid the police deployed in the area, they travelled in fields and narrow streets on foot to reach the mini-secretariat, 4 km from their locality. They said the DC was not in office and some official sitting there gave them telephone numbers to contact for help. They were illiterate and could not run to different places to contact the officials.

Despite repeated attempts, City Magistrate Suresh Ravish and Sugar Mill MD Jagdeep Singh, in charge of food distribution in the town, could not be contacted for their version.