Tarun Karthick
Campbell Bay, 21 June 2021
Fair Price Shops have played an important role during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic in our country. In Andaman and Nicobar Islands Fair Price Shops are being used to distribute the free ration under Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojna to PHH and AAY card holders.
Fair Price Shop owners of the remote Islands face numerous challenges but still serve the general public with utmost dedication. Many families in the Islands especially those with lower income depend on Fair Price Shops for procuring their supply of food grains.
One such Fair Price Shop located at Joginder Nagar in Campbell Bay is on the verge of shutting down because of unavailability of Electricity Connection at the premises.
The said Fair Price Shop which bears FPS No. 435 is owned by Mr. T Shiva and the shop functions from a premises located on an encroached land. The shop is more than 10 years old and serves customers of 66 ration cards of different categories.
The Civil Supplies Department of Andaman and Nicobar Administration has made it compulsory for the Fair Price Shops to authenticate the transactions made by the customers online through the POS Machine provided to each one of them.
The POS Machine needs Internet Connection to operate and electricity is needed to power the modem for the Internet.
Mr. T. Shiva the owner of FPS No. 435 speaking to Nicobar Times over phone has informed that he has applied for electricity connection multiple times over the years but his application was never approved. He further added that there are several other Fair Price Shops in Great Nicobar which operate from encroached land and have been provided electricity connection.
Mr. T Shiva further added that the In-Charge of Civil Supply Department of Campbell Bay has refused to provide him the ration for distribution because his FPS has not obtained a broadband connection.
When electricity connection has been provided to other Fair Pice Shops operating from encroached land in Great Nicobar, electricity connection should also be provided to the Fair Price Shop operated by Mr. T. Shiva at Joginder Nagar in public interest.