Several needy families in Dhanbad have alleged that they are being deprived of the ration promised to them both by the state government and the Centre during this unprecedented crisis triggered by the novel coronavirus pandemic.

The state and central governments had announced two months of ration to all BPL families. Apart from that, the Jharkhand government had assured 10kg of free rice for two months to those who had applied for ration cards or approached their respective councillors for ration.

However, the yawning gap between the promises and the ground reality is yet to be bridged.

Om Prakash Gupta, a 27-year-old golgappa seller of Koiri Bandh locality under Ward 44 of Jharia, said he was still waiting for his ration card and the 10kg of free rice.

“I was earning around Rs 300 per day before the lockdown. It helped me sustain a family of four, including my wife and two kids — a five-year-old daughter who suffers from cerebral palsy and three-year-old son. Soon after the lockdown, my paltry savings of Rs 5,000 got exhausted. Now, I somehow make do with help from my relatives,” he told The Telegraph on Sunday.

Sixty-six-year-old Shankar Sao, a roadside vegetable vendor and a resident of Sabji Bagan under Ward 36 in Jharia, had a similar complaint.

He said his local councillor, whom he had approached for the 10kg of rice, blamed the unavailability on temporary exhaustion of stock and delay in arrival of fresh stock.

“My wife died six months ago. I live alone and find it very difficult to procure vegetables and sell them in market. But I have no choice. Despite applying for a ration card, I am not getting the 10kg of rice promised by the state government,” he said.

Sao said he had also applied for old-age pension several times in the last four years, but to no avail.

Pahalwan Singh, 35, who works at a roadside eatery in Ward 44 of Jharia, said he was not getting ration from the PDS shop.

“I have been facing a lot of difficulty in procuring food for my wife and 11-year-old son ever since the eatery closed down. I have applied for a ration card several times, but I still don’t have one,” he said.

Anup Sao, former councillor of Ward 37 of Jharia, said the card holders had already been provided two months of ration by the state government. But they are yet to receive the ration promised by the Centre.

However, several others without ration cards are yet to get their share of food grains, he said.

District supply officer of Dhanbad, Bhogendra Thakur, said, “We have provided ration to a majority of the people. Others will get it soon. There was some delay in the arrival of consignments from the Food Corporation of India godown in the state.”