Next week, onions will become available at all ration shops across Kolkata. According to sources, agriculture-marketing department officials have agreed to allocate five quintals of onions per shop.
Council House Street in Kolkata hosts my local ration shop, which provides various goods and services.
Danga para Ration Shop
Ration shops in Kolkata are public distribution centers where the government distributes essential commodities like wheat, rice, and sugar at discounted rates to eligible families at subsidized rates. Ration shops also distribute medicines, fertilizers, and non-food items through this outlet – the Food Corporation of India manages this system; hence, they may also be known as fair price shops or ration stores.
Rationing has long been an essential component of India’s food security network and was first instituted during the Bengal famine of the 1940s. Subsequently revived as Targeted PDS shops provided goods at reduced costs to poor families in rural areas – although critics of this scheme often complain of an urban bias and failure to reach all sections of society.
Recently, the state government agreed to meet some of the demands of ration dealers by permitting them to sell non-rationed items as well. This move will benefit customers and dealers – they’ll earn a commission for selling these additional products! The decision was reached following a meeting between the state food minister and officials from multiple departments.
Ration shop dealers will now be permitted to sell other daily necessities besides rationed items, including sanitary napkins, soap and toilet paper, and five-liter cooking gas cylinders. Furthermore, these ration dealers will also sell non-rationed goods and services such as mobile data cards and credit cards.
One ration shop owner in Kolkata reported that this move will significantly alleviate their burden. At present, dealers spend large sums to run ration at doorstep programs; many cannot meet financial commitments and experience financial strain due to limited customer access. This decision is anticipated to boost sales of ration items at local shops, making them more profitable.
Ration Shop Jairampur (Kolkata)
Food and Supplies Department and Future Group have entered into an MoU to supply fair-price shops with brand products at 15-35% lower market rates, effectively turning 22,000 ration shops across the state into mini-malls.
Initial plans call for the company to supply consumer electronics and food items to ration shops while simultaneously providing the government with a database of beneficiaries and their entitlement to be used by them to determine eligibility for subsidized food grain distribution.
New Town residents without access to public distribution were ineligible for this service, so this shop will serve them and be an essential hub. As well as selling branded items, this new shop will also serve as an area where individuals can submit Form 10 applications for non-subsidized goods or change of address forms. Its opening hours will be publicized every Tuesday between 3-4 PM; residents can submit these forms at the New Town extension counter on the ground floor of the old electricity office.
Ration Shop Kasthadanga
Ration shops are government-operated stores that provide essential items at reduced costs to the poor at subsidized prices, such as wheat, rice, and sugar, to eligible households in exchange for their ration cards issued by each state government. India uses a Public Distribution System (PDS) for this service, which has helped improve nutrition among many families and reduce malnutrition within its borders.
Rations are distributed through a network of fair-price shops set up across India by the Food Corporation of India, which buys their commodities and then sells them to dealers who deliver them directly to customers. These shops serve as an intermediary between state governments and people and help reduce poverty while assuring an adequate supply of essential commodities.
Though designed to be efficient, rationing systems present several problems that must be addressed. This includes a lack of transparency and dealers cheating customers for more profit. The food supplies department is working towards remedying these issues through new systems – for instance, M-Ration Mitra allows consumers to register their cards via phone number registration, which speeds up this process significantly.
The m-Ration Mitra app also serves as a consumer complaint forum, enabling people to lodge grievances about closed ration shops or non-distribution of certain items. Furthermore, consumers will receive notifications regarding their ration card status, including availability and amounts required.
Not only do ration shops provide essential commodities like food grains, but they also stock essential items like soap, salt, kerosene, and matchboxes. The State Consumer Welfare Board runs ration shops in West Bengal, while Kolkata’s Directorate of Rationing oversees this rationing system from the Barrackpore sub-division.
Before this opening, residents of New Town did not have access to a ration shop; that has now changed with an extension counter opening at Action Area 1’s old electricity office on the ground floor. The state government is working toward expanding Duare Ration into more areas; a weekly slot will occur here with a Rajarhat dealer overseeing operations.
