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In a letter to the Ration Shop Owners and M R Dealers Association, he requested them to withdraw their strike but at the same time assured them that he will consider their demands.
In October last, Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee had announced the formation of a committee to ascertain the causes behind the ration shops incurring losses. The committee had already placed its report before the state government.
Adhikary assured the association that the recommendations have been forwarded to the finance ministry in January and will be implemented soon.
On January 1, the association had jointly announced to launch a strike to protest against the inaction of the state government regarding their demands. The demands included enhancement of quota on commodities and VAT be withdrawn for items being supplied from ration shops. Bishambar Bose, the association’s general secretary had threatened to go on a hungerstrike if the demands were not met by this month.
Bose said, “The Union Ministry of Food and Supply had decided to curtail the quota of wheat by 50 per cent. Now, 1,22,000 tons of wheat is being allotted monthly for APL, BPL and Antodaya card holders. The ministry had proposed to the state government to import the 50 per cent of the total requirement from outside.” He alleged that the state government had not put any pressure on the Centre to not to curtail allotment of wheat.
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