At least 68 lakh families in Kerala received the free Onam food kits through the ration shops, state Food and Civil Supplies minister G R Anil has said. The LDF government had started the distribution of free Onam food kits containing 14 items to ration card holders from August 23.
The minister said distributing the food kits was to ensure that no one sleeps hungry during the festival. "As of now, 73 per cent of families have collected the food kits from the ration shops," the minister said in a release on Saturday.
He urged everyone to collect the kits before Onam which falls on September 8. The government had earlier announced that the food kit distribution will go on till September 7.
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The minister also urged the people to make use of the special Onam market and other special melas arranged by the Agriculture department and other cooperative societies in the state to rein in a price hike for essentials during this festive season.
The 14-item food kit consists of sugar, green gram, coconut oil, tea powder, chilli powder, turmeric powder, ghee, salt, and cashew nuts among other items.
However, according to Manorama reports that as many as 45 lakh cardholders have not yet received the free Onam kits supplied by the government. Due to the scarcity of chilli powder, turmeric powder, salt, cardamom and cloth bags. The Civil Supplies Department has directed to open the ration outlets on holidays.
(With PTI inputs)