90% of yellow, pink ration card holders in Kerala missed mustering

Thiruvananthapuram: The time frame suggested by the Central government for carrying out e-KYC mustering of yellow and pink ration card members ended on Sunday. However, not even 10 per cent of the 1.54 crore members in Kerala have completed the mustering.

An attempt had been made to conduct the mustering on March 15, but due to a snag in the electronic point of sale (e-POS) system, it had to be stopped on the same day. Although the State Food and Civil Supplies Department has sent multiple letters to the Centre requesting an extension of the deadline until May 31, it has not yet received a reply.

The department has said that ration card holders will not lose their ration share despite the expiry of the deadline prescribed by the Centre.

The Centre had directed the conduct of mustering by the members directly going to the ration shops and putting their fingers on the e-POS machine to prove that all the members were alive, thereby preventing the misuse of the ration commodities.

The deadline prescribed by the Centre for linking ration cards with Aadhaar ended on Sunday.