Hyderabad: Over 17,000 ration dealers have vowed to strike work indefinitely beginning June 5, with the main demand being the payment of a minimum monthly honorarium of ₹30,000 in villages, ₹35,000 in mandal headquarters, and ₹40,000 in towns and municipal corporations.
Various associations of ration dealers formed a Joint Action Committee (JAC) and served state government a strike notice. Their other demands included payment of dealers' commission arrears for three months, payment of ₹20,000-₹30,000 to kin of ration dealers in the event of dealer’s death to perform their last rites, health cards for ration dealers and their family members, increasing the renewal period of dealership from two to five years, or eliminating the renewal system and granting permanent dealership.
The dealers were also demanding that the government extend group insurance coverage and covert ration shops into mini-super markets by making available a few more essential commodities instead of supplying only rice at present.
Telangana Ration Dealers Association state vice-president P.Anand Kumar said that the government had stayed silent for five years. "We are forced to go on indefinite strike as there is no response from the government on our pending demands," Anand said.
Civil supplies minister Gangula Kamalakar on Thursday held a meeting with officials to take stock of the situation. He appealed to the ration dealers to withdraw their strike notice keeping in the view the hardships of poor and needy who are dependent on Rs 1 per kg subsidised rice to meet their food needs.
"We have decided to hold a meeting with ration dealers on May 22 to discuss their demands. The government will consider their major demands positively," Kamalakar said.
