TMC MP Sougata Roy has written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, urging him to extend the free foodgrain programme by six more months.

Roy said the poor are yet to recover from the economic blows caused by the pandemic and the lockdowns.

"May I take the indulgence of inviting your kind notice to the fact that the validity period of distribution of food grains under PMGKAY will be over on and from September 2022.

"I would request you to consider extension of the schemes for at least six months as the menace of corona still haunts the country and people and particularly the poor NFSA (National Food Security Act) beneficiaries have still not been able to overcome the financial damage caused by the pandemic," Roy said in the letter, dated August 13.

The scheme, which benefits over 80 crore people, was extended in March for six months till September.

"I have urged the prime minister to extend the programme as the poor people of the country are still reeling under the blows of the pandemic and the lockdowns. Their financial situation is yet to return to the pre-Covid days," Roy told reporters on Sunday.

In March 2020, the Centre had launched the scheme, Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKAY), to provide free foodgrains to over 80 crore beneficiaries covered under the National Food Security Act as part of its efforts to reduce the hardships of people during the coronavirus pandemic.