Nayagarh: Acting on locals’ allegations of panchayat officer forging ration cards, Ranapur block development officer (BDO) brought to light Friday the irregularities plaguing the ration distribution system.
Locals have alleged that the Narasinghpur panchayat executive officer (PEO) Pratap Nayak and sarpanch Nityananda Pradhan under this block in Nayagarh district have issued ration cards with fake names. They had been availing of ration using those cards for the last 18 months. Recently however, locals sensed something fishy and informed the appropriate authorities.
This incident came to the fore after two beneficiaries namely Jharana Sahu and Balamani Palei of Karadapalli village of the same panchayat lodged a complaint with the Ranapur BDO. They alleged that they were not getting their ration cards. On investigating the matter, the BDO noticed that others were lifting the ration in their names. Jharna and Balamani also said that they did not get the financial help provided by the Odisha government due to COVID-19 and for those affected by Cyclone Amphan. They said the accused had withdrawn that money too, by using fake ration cards.
Karadapalli villagers have demanded action against the culprits and have requested the district administration to provide Jharna and Balamani with the ration they lost out on.
PNN