Action against 77 fair price shops, 148 kerosene outlets in

The district administration has cancelled/suspended permits of as many as 77 fair price shops across Thane following irregularities.
According to District Supply Officer Farogue Mukadam, similar action has been initiated against 148 kerosene outlets in the district.
The district has a total of 593 fair price shops in five talukas of Bhiwandi, Sahapur, Murbad, Kalyan, and Ambernath, the officer said.
The number of kerosene outlets in these talukas are 431,195, 231, 110 and 100 respectively, she said.
Bhiwandi taluka tops the list with as many as 30 fair price shops and 61 kerosene outlets being shut for irregularities.
The card holders of these shops, against which action has been initiated have been accommodated in the surrounding shops it was stated.

According to statistics, in the end October 2016, there were as many as 20,8,107 families having ration cards covering a population of 1029748. This includes 46415 cards issued under the "Antyodaya" category.
The officer further said that mobile ration shops introduced in the district recently got an overwhelming response from villagers and they want it to be extended to other villages too.
Presently it is operated in Sahapur taluka and as per demand additional mobile vans would be added and the coverage of the villages and frequency may also be increased, she said.