Ration outlets to remain closed tomorrow

Sunday, April 29, 2012: Ration outlets in the country would be closed on April 30 and observe a ‘protest day’ against the Union Government’s policy of ‘crushing’ the public distribution system, All India Ration Dealers Association said.
Informing this at a news conference, Association National General Secretary Babichan Mukkadan and State Secretaries Antony Palakkuzy and N B Sivadasan said the ration dealers would boycott all programmese of Union Minister of State for Food and Consumer Affairs, Prof K V Thomas, to express their protest in this regard.
If the Centre cancelled its earlier order stopping the distribution of wheat and distribution of ration items through Supplyco, the association would campaign against the UDF candidates in the Neyyattinkara bypoll and would convert the ration shops into election offices in the area, they said adding that they would organise agitation against Thomas and Kerala Food and Civil Supplies Minister.
Alleging the State Government was selling 25,32,000 liter of kerosene, out of one crore liter kerosene provided by the centre for families, to fishing boats, they said though the Centre had informed the state government to apply a special kerosene quota for fishing boats on the lines of Tamil Nadu, the state government miserably failed to do so.