New Delhi: Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath launched the Nishulk Khadyan Vitran (Free Food Grains Distribution) programme on Sunday to provide free food to the poor in Uttar Pradesh till Holi next year.
As reported by ANI, the initiative was launched under the National Food Security Act. The Chief Minister while addressing the occasion, “The state government is taking forward the free ration distribution scheme of the prime minister today. The world is under the third wave of the Corona pandemic. During the pandemic, Prime Minister Narendra Modi rolled out free food distribution scheme that benefitted 80 crore poor people. The scheme was started by the state government as well benefitting nearly 15 crore people. Uttar Pradesh government also distributed free food grains for a term of 3 months."
The CM said that the benefit of the “double engine government” should reach to the people who are in need. "The benefit of double food distribution of the double engine government should reach the needy, so the free food distribution scheme is being launched that would extend the free food distribution from Diwali to Holi," he said.
Adityanath targeted the previous governments and alleged that the food used to be diverted from Uttar Pradesh to other states and added that the scheme was now being implemented in a transparent manner under his government. "The entire scheme is being implemented in a transparent way. Before 2017, the food used to go to the food mafia and this food used to be sent from Uttar Pradesh to some other state. During the rule of the previous government, death by starvation was seen," the CM said.
The scheme was launched in the year 2020. The Centre provides five kilograms of wheat or rice to every poor person every month free of cost in the wake of Covid-19 pandemic.