Fake ration cards to corner relief

CUDDALORE: Fishermen of Devanampattinam, a coastal village in the Cuddalore district, on Tuesday, charged Fisheries Department officials and a few middlemen for fake ration cards that have allegedly been circulated in coastal villages to pocket funds to be distributed to fishermen during the fishing ban.The State government provides relief funds to fishermen during the fishing ban period. Last year, J Jayalalithaa soon after becoming the Chief Minister doubled the relief amount of `1,000 to `2,000, in line with her assurance during the election campaign. The enhanced relief amount was distributed in June last year. However, the fishermen alleged that there is a lot of malpractice in distribution of these relief amounts. According to sources, in 2011, in the Devanampattinam fishing hamlet, relief funds were distributed to 1,754 beneficiaries whereas there are only 1,300 ration card holders in the village. K Pulendhran, a fisherman, said, “In June last year `2,000 was given to 1,754 beneficiaries but `4,000 was given to only around 1,200 people in the same village. How can the number of beneficiaries for the `4,000 relief fund come down to 1,200 later in the same year?” Fishermen charged that over 15 middlemen have been functioning in the village, helping people get relief amounts from the Fisheries Department. Another fisherman E Sekar said, “ These middlemen should be removed completely. They have been benefiting through schemes meant for fisher folk.” When contacted, Vivekanandhan, assistant director of the Fisheries Department, said, “We strictly monitor the distribution process and I am sure everything is being done as per the guideline.”