The residents of Periyakarpoorampatti, Chinnakarpoorampatti and Kidaripatti near Melur staged a demonstration outside the ration shops on Tuesday, complaining about the poor quality of rice supplied to them.
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The residents of Periyakarpoorampatti and Chinnakarpoorampatti staged a demonstration from the morning till the afternoon. The residents of Kidaripatti dumped the rice on the road and staged their protest.
The villagers complained that the ration rice supplied to them was of poor quality, infested with worms and stinking. “How can we eat this rice? Will the authorities eat this? What about our health?,” asked an elderly woman.
The villagers said it was the duty of the authorities to ensure that good quality rice was supplied to the people. Ration shop employees were also indulging in other irregularities, they said.
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The protesters complained that the ration shops were not opened on time, palm oil was sold at a much higher price, the commodities were not stored properly and they were sold in the black market.
They said when they questioned the ration shop employees about these irregularities, the staff were arrogant in their response. It was not the first time that this was happening. Despite several complaints being made to the authorities, the situation had not improved, said K. Selvaraj, one of the protesters.
He said the authorities should take action against the ration shop staff involved in irregularities and ensure that this was not repeated. They called off the protest after they were assured that the authorities would look into the issues.