PDS dealers seek state staff status

Ration dealers in the state have threatened to go on strike from August to exert pressure on the government to treat them as government employees and pay a minimum salary of `30,000 per month.

Hundreds of ration dealers across the state attempted to lay siege to the CM’s camp office at Begumpet on Friday to press their demand.

A large number of police personnel were deployed near the camp office to prevent the ration dealers from entering the premises.

However, the ration dealers jostled with the police as they tried to force their way inside.

The police arrested some of them and shifted them to Goshamahal police stadium.

TS Ration Dealers Welfare Association Bathula Ramesh Babu said each ration dealer was suffering losses of up to `10,000 per month due to the minimal commission offered by the government. He alleged that each rice bags supplied by government to ration dealers was short by 3 kg due to which they were suffering losses.

They condemned the government’s attempt to project all ration dealers as ‘black marketers’ before the public while the fact was that only a few isolated cases of irregularities by dealers had come to light.

“The government has all powers to arrest such dealers and cancel their licences. But it not fair to project all ration dealers in poor light because of some isolated cases and denying increase in commission rates on these grounds. No ration shop is financially viable now,” Mr Ramesh said.

He added that each ration shop was earning `3,766 on an average but incurring an expenditure of `8,700.

“Except rice, the government has cut supply of all other essential commodities through ration shops. Our earnings took a beating, pushing us into losses,” he said.