Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Saturday remembered the martyrs of 1959 Khadya Andolan and said 8.59 crore people in Bengal have been provided with food security through the “Khadya Sathi” scheme. Taking to her Twitter handle, Ms Banerjee said, ” Remembering the martyrs of 1959 Khadya Andolan. In #Bangla, we provide food security to 90% (8.59 crore) of the State’s people, through the Khadya Sathi scheme. ”
‘Khadya Sathi’ is one of the flagship programmes of the Bengal Government, implemented by the Food and Supplies Department. In fact, managing a Targeted Public Distribution System (TPDS) and procurement of paddy and rice at MSP to prevent distressed sale are the principal activities of the department, and the Khadya Sathi scheme is an integral part of these activities. The major challenge is to ensure the reach of subsidised foodgrains to the poorest of the poor.
Meanwhile, the West Bengal government is set to conduct camps in all the offices of Block Development Officers (BDO) across the state from September 9-26 to provide ration cards to 4 to 5 per cent of the total population in the state, who have still been left out of the Khadya Sathi scheme. (UNI)
