The All India Fair Price Shop Dealers Federation’s West Bengal unit has announced an indefinite relay hunger strike starting from February 16 in and around Kolkata. This protest is in response to the Central government’s proposal to eliminate subsidies in the ration system and introduce Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT), food coupons, and e-rupee. The organization has been gradually closing ration shops in Darjeeling and Kalimpong districts since the beginning of February, and now aims to expand this movement statewide.
The national General Secretary of the organization, Biswambhar Basu, has accused the Central government of attempting to dismantle the subsidy system in the ration system and replace it with a cash transfer and coupon-based system. While the current central budget does not explicitly mention this change, concerns have been raised about its potential implementation in the future. The press statement highlighted that the dealers’ interests have been neglected in the past due to organizational weaknesses, prompting the organization to escalate its agitation to prevent a recurrence of such situations.
In preparation for potential legal action, the organization has instructed ration dealers across rural and urban areas of the state to gather Antyodaya Anna Yojana (AAY) ration cards, relevant Aadhaar numbers, and cardholders’ WhatsApp numbers. As part of the protest plan, ration dealers will participate in a relay hunger strike on specific days, with the closure of all ration shops in the area on those days. The organization has emphasized that if the unequal treatment of ration dealers’ livelihoods in the Central and state budgets persists, the protest movement will intensify further.
