Shimla, January 28:
The Himachal Kisan Sabha has urged the state government to grant special exemptions for distribution of ration under the Public Distribution System (PDS) in snow-affected areas, where beneficiaries are facing severe difficulties due to prolonged power outages and malfunctioning e-POS machines.
In a joint statement, Kasumpti–Mashobra Regional Committee President Jai Shiv Thakur and Secretary Dalip Singh said that heavy snowfall has disrupted electricity supply in large parts of the region. As a result, e-POS machines are unable to function due to lack of power and poor network connectivity, forcing ration card holders to return without receiving their entitled food grains.
Jai Shiv Thakur said that in extreme cold conditions, people travel long distances to fair price shops, stand in queues for hours, and yet have to go back empty-handed because of technical failures. He pointed out that as per existing government norms, ration distribution is allowed only up to the 30th of every month. If beneficiaries fail to collect rations due to natural calamities, technical glitches or transport disruptions, the pending ration lapses and is not carried forward to the next month.
“This system is delivering a double blow to poor, labourers and needy families,” he said, adding that many households are being deprived of essential food supplies despite being eligible.
The Himachal Kisan Sabha demanded that in villages and panchayats of the Kasumpti area and Mashobra block, which frequently remain cut off during snowfall, the government should immediately put alternative arrangements in place. These include permission for offline or manual distribution in case of machine failure, extension of ration distribution dates in special circumstances, and special exemptions for disaster-affected areas, ensuring that no eligible family is denied ration due to technical or natural constraints.
