Kerala ration dealers announce protest over Food Security Bill

Thiruvananthapuram: Claiming that the proposed Food Security scheme in its present form would deny food grains to around 40 crore people, All India Ration Dealers Association on Thursday announced a series of protests to press its demand for framing proper criteria for identifying the beneficiaries.

The association would hold a hunger-strike in New Delhi on October 2, its leaders told reporters here. The forum would also observe `black day` co-ordinating five lakh `nyaya vila (fair value)` shops across the country on August 20 in support of its demand, the association general secretary Babychan Mukkadan said. "The government should not implement the law without framing proper criteria for finding out the deserved beneficiaries or preparing a list of them. To press the demand, we are planning a series of protests at the state and national level," he said. Otherwise, ration food grains would be denied to half of the deserved families in urban areas and 25 per cent of rural families, he claimed. The association members would also hold hunger strike in front of the state Secretariat here on September 23, he said. PTI