Uneven token distribution for flood relief irks residents
Residents claimed that on Friday morning, the PDS staff went to a random street, sat in a corner and asked residents to collect the tokens. The information was also not passed on to the people till noon.
Representative Image (Photo: Hemanathan M)
CHENNAI: Distribution of token system for availing the flood relief fund of Rs 6,000 on Friday morning has left residents of Perungalathur, Peerkankaranai, Nanganallur and its surrounding areas fuming, as they allege that the tokens were not issued properly.
They said that they were not aware of the distribution, as no official or PDS staff had told them about it.
Residents claimed that on Friday morning, the PDS staff went to a random street, sat in a corner and asked residents to collect the tokens. The information was also not passed on to the people till noon. After hearing that the tokens were being distributed, people rushed to the spot to collect them which led to a lot of confusion.
Most people were sent back home empty-handed as they told that their names did not feature in the list. And, they were reportedly asked to come back after a few days.
In Nanganallur PDS Shop number 10, there are 1,800 families listed but only 700 names were on the list. V Rama Rao, secretary of the People’s Welfare Association of Nanganallur, said: “We don’t know how names have been selected. There is no point in giving the flood fund to some and leaving out others residing on the same street.”
A resident also averred that the staff was not visiting them at home to distribute tokens, and that “they’re just staying at a place comfortable to them and distributing them. It would have been easier even if the tokens were distributed in our respective PDS shops”.
However, official from the Tambaram corporation said that they would be distributing tokens to all residents at their doorstep. “However, there is some confusion about the address of the people. Until that’s sorted, we’re distributing tokens from a commonplace.
