Hyderabad: Amid the ongoing COVID-19 crisis, the fair price shop dealers in Telangana gave notice for a strike from June 1, if their demands are not met by then.
The delegation of dealers presented a memorandum to civil supplies commissioner V Anil Kumar, informing him about the strike notice.
The dealers’ demands are the provision of ex gratia of 25 lakh to ration dealers who died of COVID-19, the release of pending dues, insurance coverage, and a hike in the commission of FPS dealers.
As per the media reports, the delegation said the commission paid by the Telangana government was the lowest compared to other states.
Dealers said about 70 of their comrades have died so far due to COVID-19, but the state government has neither recognized them as frontline warriors nor announced any financial assistance to the families of those who died.
Officials from the civil supplies department said they were considering dealers’ demands, adding that a final decision would be made soon. He said that copies of the memorandum submitted by the dealers would be sent to the Chief Secretary.
Over 1.75 lakh metric tonnes of rice priced at rupee one per kg is distributed through fair price shops every month to 87 lakh cardholders.