In January 2017, the State government announced free saris and dhotis as part of a special Pongal gift to the residents of Mogappair East. However, the distribution never happened. Now, 600 cotton saris in plastic bags lie untouched among stacks of gunny bags that contain rice, groceries items and detergent cakes, at a Public Distribution System (PDS) outlet on Veeramamunivar Salai. These saris are said to remain in this poky room, because they cannot be distributed till an equal number of dhotis arrive and both can be distributed jointly to the beneficiaries. “This way, we can distribute them at the same time rather than ask beneficiaries to visit the shop again, for dhotis. However, we have no idea when the dhotis will arrive,” says official in-charge of the outlet. A few long-time residents, which include V. Ramani, have been visiting the ration shop every day to find out about the date of distribution. “We have been receiving the same reply from the officials of the Civic Supplies Department — that we have to wait for the dhotis to arrive. They were even non-committal about the distribution of the existing stock of saris at the outlet,” said Ramani. Set up more than two decades ago, the PDS outlet (coded EB – 067, Mogappair East II E) caters to 2,132 consumers in the neighbourhood, covering residents of 10th, 11th and 12th block. Of the 2,132 card holders, around 1,500 are eligible for the free dhoti and sari scheme of the State government. Officials of the Civil Supplies Department reveal that shortage of dhotis is the primary reason for the delay. However, they also fear that, if the existing saris are not distributed soon, they will be ravaged by rodents. Incidentally, there are two more PDS outlets — EA–200 and EA–035 — on the same stretch of Veeramamunivar Salai for other consumers. These outlets too faced similar problems; they had adequate dhotis in stock but ran short of saris. However, due to pressure from the beneficiaries, the two outlets went ahead and distributed the dhotis, deciding to inform the consumers when the saris arrive. Residents have demanded that a similar arrangement be made at EB–067 PDS outlet too.

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