Pongal gift hamper distribution begins in Madurai

Distribution of Pongal gift hampers to about nine lakh ration card holders started in Madurai on Wednesday.  

Distribution of Pongal gift hampers to about nine lakh ration card holders started in Madurai on Wednesday.  

Minister for Commercial Taxes and Registration P. Moorthy along with District Collector M. S. Sangeetha formally inaugurated the distribution at a ration shop in Chatrapatti village. Each card holder would get one kg of rice, one kg of sugar, one sugarcane and a cash amount of ₹1,000 through 1,389 ration shops in the district. 

An official said, about 30% of the ration cards were given the hampers on the first day, while the remaining card holders would be given in the next three days.  

“As the norms in giving the gift hampers were changed by the State government to include all rice card holders, people who were left out and did not get the token from the ration shops will get the gift hampers on January 13 and 14,” an official said. 

A. Arumugam, a resident of ward 14, said the ration shop in their locality would be distributing gift hampers to around 200 persons who had received the tokens on the first day.