COIMBATORE: The womenfolk in the district were happy with the free rice scheme under the Public Distribution System, a recent study has revealed.The random study was carried out by the District Information and Public Relations Department (DIPR). It sought to ascertain the effectiveness of the PDS system and to elicit feedback from the public on the quality and availability of the rice supplied under the scheme. Some of the views expressed by the beneficiaries also supported this inference. For 54-year-old Vellaiammal, an agricultural labourer, the scheme was a boon. “I cannot go to work daily as I am sick. The free rice is a boon to us and that too, it is of fine quality. In the past, the ration rice was of inferior quality. I feel that the free rice is good now and easily digestible.” Similarly, another respondent, Iyyamal (52), a farm worker of Ambedkar Colony, said, “I am indebted to Chief Minister Jayalalithaa. The free rice was made available at the ration shops every month since June after the AIADMK came to power. There is no complaint against the quality of the rice, which is cent per cent better than that the quality supplied in the past.” Other respondents, like Rajeshwari (58), a daily wager from Sowripalayam Road at Puliakulam, also expressed their gratitude to the Chief Minister for introducing the scheme.For others, like Subbathal (56), a farm labourer of Kalampapalyam village, the quality of other essential items was also much better now than that of the goods that were earlier supplied under the PDS.According to District PRO V Thangaraj, the feedback from the ration card holders was encouraging as it meant that the quality of supply was good. The scheme was launched by the CM on June 1 this year, he said. The district has a network of 1,074 full time and 235 part time ration shops, including 115 shops operated by women Self Help Groups (SHGs). Every month,as much as 20 kg of rice is supplied to 9,06,061 families, while 35 kg is distributed to 61,653 families under the Below Poverty Line in the district. While 34,799 metric tonnes of rice was supplied in the months of June and July, 17,200 metric tonnes were earmarked for distribution in August.
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