Ration depots, retailers run out of stocks:Greater kashmir

GOWHAR BHAT


Srinagar, Aug 16: Government’s contrary claims on economic blockade and supplies notwithstanding, the Valley is facing acute shortage of rice, sugar, kerosene, LPG and other essential items, with most of the ration depots and shops running out of stocks.
In the wake of the shortage of the essential commodities, people on Saturday could be seen return empty handed from the ration depots here. The storekeepers at city’s ration depots said the sugar and rice stocks had fully exhausted almost a week back.
“The fresh supplies might be reaching to the Valley but we haven’t received any supplies for the past a month. The stocks we received exhausted last week,” said a store in charge at a ration depot in Soura.
Similarly, the kerosene depots and many petrol pumps are running dry. The LPG retail outlets too are falling short of the demand.
In other areas of the city the situation is no different. The residents of many city areas including Khanyar, Nowhatta, Rainawari and Soura said in absence of supplies to the food depots they had been left in lurch.
“Everyday government makes announcements on radio and TV that enough supplies were reaching to the Valley, but there is no stock at the ration depots,” said Bilal Ahmad, a resident of Buchpora.
Due to the highway blockade and the ensuing shutdown, the stocks of the retailers too have exhausted. “Most of the shopkeepers have empty shops. To fetch half a quintal of rice I had to approach to more than a dozen shopkeepers,” said Muhammad Ayub of Safakadal.
“Most of the stockists and distributors here have a habit of maintaining fat stocks in view of the unreliable sole highway that mostly gets blocked during winters. But the stocks they had reserved too have been exhausted,” said Tufail Ahmad, a stockiest.
The Divisional Commissioner, Kashmir, Masood Samoon had Thursday said that enough stocks of food and other consumable items were present in the Valley. “The rice stocks would last for 20 days, petrol for 7 days, LPG for 6 days, diesel for 5 days, kerosene for 1 month and sugar stocks for 3 days.” he had said.