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The rice festival organised to ensure ration under public distribution system (PDS) to the people are finding good taste among the villagers trekking to the weekly rural market from remote areas in Chhattisgarh.
The state government had been organising the rice festival every month to make sure that the beneficiaries were getting the ration. Besides the fair free shops, the festival is organised in the Haat Bazaar-the weekly market organised specially in the tribal-predominated pockets of the state.
People from the pockets tucked away in the inaccessible terrains walk to the weekly market. It had become a tradition and custom in the tribal lifestyle to attend the weekly market where they also happen to meet their relatives. The authorities through the local outlets supply the foodgrains to the beneficiaries.
The officials in the state's food department informed that over 547,000 ration-cardholders lifted the ration from the 5908 haat-bazaars outlets in the month of July.
While 237104 quintals of rice were distributed during the period in the weekly market, 22,313 quintals of wheat, 27,711 quintals of sugar, 27,731 quintals of Amrit salt and 471971 litres of kerosene were also sold.
Besides, 1602 beneficiaries were provided old-age pension and about 1816 beneficiaries were bestowed the benefits of the social security pension.
The officials said the villagers coming from the remote areas were purchasing foodgrains from the outlets and the scheme had evoked a successful response.
