Residents of a village in Giridih district of Jharkhand have alleged that their local ration dealer has been siphoning off food grains meant for beneficiaries of a central government scheme and selling it in the open market.

Nearly 50 women from Dhundu village in Manjori panchayat under Bengabad block of Giridih, around 200km from Ranchi, staged a protest at the block development office on Monday accusing PDS (public distribution system) dealer G. Dev of distributing fewer food grains under the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana but forcing them to sign showing that they received the full quantity in the ration card register.

“Most of the time it is our women who go to fetch rations carrying the ration cards. Though each member whose name is mentioned in the ration card is entitled to get 5kg of food grains every month under the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana, we are given either 3kg or 2kg and are made to sign on the register showing that we received the full quantity on some pretext or the other. When we protest, the ration dealer threatens us,” said Manoj Goswami, a resident of Dhundu.

Manoj claimed that he had received less than 10kg of food grains despite having names of three family members in the ration card which entitles him to 15kg according to the central government scheme.

The Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana was announced by the Narendra Modi government in March 2020 to ameliorate the distress caused by Covid-19. It was again started in May 2021 after the second wave of Covid and is being continued till November.

In Jharkhand, each member of a family whose name figures in the ration card (except green card holders) are entitled to receive 3kg of rice and 2kg of wheat every month under the scheme.

Another villager Ashok Sahu said that every month they have been receiving less than the stipulated quantity of food grains.

“When we complain, the ration dealer threatens us and says that she has influence in the district headquarters and nobody can harm her. She forces villagers to sign on the ration register showing the proper amount but the food grains we receive is less than that entered in the register. This has been going on for nearly three months,” said Sahu.

Manjori panchayat mukhiya Gauri Shankar also said that he had received complaints against the ration dealer.

“I have received complaints from the villagers against the ration dealer. But the ration dealer has refused to change her ways,” said Shankar.

Bengabad block development officer Qayyum Ansari also said that he had also received complaints from the villagers.

“They staged a demonstration to protest against the ration dealer on Monday. I have asked the marketing officer-in-charge of the block to conduct a probe and submit a report so that action can be taken against the ration dealer,” said Ansari.

Giridih district supply officer Gautam Kumar Bhagat assured of a probe.

“It is a serious issue and I will personally look into the matter during the investigation,” said Bhagat.