Berhampur: In view of the rising coronavirus cases in Ganjam district panchayat officer of Gopalpur Sasana panchayat of Sorada block in the district has asked the PDS beneficiaries to undergo COVID-19 test before availing ration.
According to sources, pachayat officer Prashant Kumar Behera has imposed the regulation for the beneficiaries of three villages of the panchayat where the COVID-19 cases have been recorded to be highest.
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On the other hand, the beneficiaries opposed the decision of the panchyat officer saying that the only motive here is to deprive them of the PDS benefits in such a crucial situation.
Tutu Pradhan, a local said, “Sunday morning I had gone to the PDS ration shop in our panchayat. There I waited in queue from 6 am to 12 pm for my turn but when my turn came the ration distributor asked me to go for a COVID-19 test before buying the ration”
The panchayat officer, however, defending the allegations stating that the decision which has been taken by the panchayat office aims at spreading awareness among the public about the disease.
He further clarified, “It is not mandatory for all to do their COVID-19 test. But it will be better if the people will do their COVID-19 test before collecting the ration. It will be better for the health of all the ration beneficiaries and the ration distributor. This move is to create awareness about the pandemic among the people”
Notably, Ganjam is known to have reported the highest number of COVID-19 cases so far in the state. If Sorada is taken into consideration, the block, alone, has reported 495 cases of which 26 are active cases. Four persons have succumbed to the virus in the block, while 465 have recovered from the disease.
PNN