Excelsior Correspondent
UDHAMPUR, Mar 18: Senior political leader and prominent social activist, Pawan Khajuria, on Wednesday, expressed serious concern regarding the functioning of the Food Civil Supply & Consumer Affairs (FCS&CA) in Udhampur district.
Addressing a prèss conference here, today Pawan Khajuria, said that the Department has failed to effectively deliver essential services to the people. He pointed out that the total number of ration card holders in Jammu and Kashmir is 25 lakh and there are about 6600 depots in the UT. As far Udhampur, there are approximately 115,447 ration cards, which represents only a small proportion of the district’s total population. This, raises serious questions about the Department’s outreach and implementation mechanisms, he added.
Khajuria further remarked that the existing system reflects a pattern of mere procedural compliance rather than genuine service delivery. “The Department appears to be engaged in fulfilling formalities, while a significant portion of the population remains deprived of essential benefits,” he said.
On infrastructural shortcomings, he pointed out that there are only around 171 ration depots in the district, which are grossly inadequate given the challenging geographical terrain of Udhampur, particularly its hilly and remote areas. He stressed that the limited number of depots makes access to essential commodities difficult for residents living in far-flung regions.
Highlighting the economic condition of the district, Khajuria said that the per capita income in Udhampur is approximately Rs 72,000, indicating that a substantial segment of the population requires Government support. In this context, he urged the authorities to take immediate and decisive action.
He called upon the Department to work on a war footing to increase the number of ration cards, especially for families falling under the Below Poverty Line (BPL) category. He also demanded a significant expansion in the number of ration depots to ensure last-mile delivery of essential supplies.
The press conference was also attended by former Sarpanch, Mahesh Gautam, KuldeepChaudhary, ArunSethi, Pradeep Thakur, Sham Sethi, Subhash Chandra, Rohit Sharma, Uttam Singh, Ankit, RajatBhardwaj, Rakesh Kumar, and Ajay Khatri.
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