PANJIM: Some Fair Price Shops (FPS) in the State have suddenly shut citing financial unviability and much to the shock of consumers/card holders, who had to travel a distance to collect their December ration quota.
The first incident occurred in Aldona where a fair price shop was closed down a few days back and about 1,000 ration card holders had to travel to Porvorim to collect their December ration quota.
The affected card holders then approached local MLA Adv Carlos Alvares Ferreira and appealed to him to look into the issue. The MLA has assured them that he would immediately look into their grievances.
When contacted, All Goa Consumer Co-operative Society and Fair Price Shop Owners Association general secretary Gandhi Henriques said that more than 10 owners have threatened to shut their FPSs due to financial unviability. Five FPS in Bardez Taluka and four each in Tiswadi and Salcete and one from Mormugao Taluka will no longer be in the group of public distribution system (PDS), he informed.
Henriques said, “All this speaks volumes in a situation where the government had constituted a committee to make running of FPS business financially viable for the dealers in the State. The committee had only two meetings and in the second meeting the acting Director of Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs Jayant Tari came unprepared for the agenda and Secretary (Civil Supplies) Sanjit Rodrigues, IAS, who is committee chairman was disappointed.”
Appealing to all FPS owners to bear patience and be united, Henriques said that he with the support of Shailesh Mahambre will raise the issue at the next meeting of the government constituted committee. Committee chairman Sanjit Rodrigues is on record that he wants to conclude within three meetings and submit the report/scheme to the government to be placed before the Cabinet for final decision.
