Tamil Nadu to give Rs 1,000 to every ration cardholder

Fisheries Minister D Jayakumar on Thursday said that all ration card holders in Tamil Nadu will be provided with Rs 1000 assistance from April 2 to 13 as people in the state are struggling to get essentials goods due to three-week nationwide lockdown to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.

However, essential services are being continued.

"Each ration cardholder will be provided with Rs 1,000 due to lockdown. People are struggling. So, all the essentials provided starting from today till April 13 will be provided," said Jayakumar.

"In Chennai, we have 18,32,158 ration cardholders. I thank the public for maintaining the social distance while standing in the queue," he added.

He also said that the tokens are being provided to the public to avoid the crowd in ration shops.

Jayakumar further said: "The government is taking stringent action against those, those who are breaking rules. People should follow government rules and should not venture out unnecessarily."

The total number of coronavirus cases in India climbed to 1,965 on Thursday after 131 people tested positive in the last 12 hours, said the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. So far, 50 people have lost their lives due to the virus.