Ration supply hit in Thanjavur as POS machines malfunction for 15 days
In Thanjavur taluk, the distribution of ration to family cardholders has been disrupted for the past 15 days due to technical glitches in point of sale (POS) machines used at fair price shops. Around 80 employees from 91 fair price shops in the taluk approached the Taluk Supply Officer on August 21 and handed over the malfunctioning devices, citing persistent server issues.
The employees, accompanied by office-bearers of the Tamil Nadu Government Fair Price Shop Employees’ Union, said the POS machines had stopped functioning properly, preventing them from authenticating transactions and distributing essential commodities such as rice, sugar, and kerosene to eligible families. They demanded immediate repair or replacement of the devices to restore regular service.
Sources in the Civil Supplies Department acknowledged that reports of server problems had been received in the last few days. They said necessary steps were being initiated to address the technical failures and ensure uninterrupted supply to cardholders.
The development has affected thousands of families in Thanjavur taluk who depend on the public distribution system (PDS) for their monthly food grain quota. Residents expressed inconvenience as they were unable to collect their entitled provisions, with some saying they had to make repeated visits to the shops.
The PDS is a crucial welfare mechanism in Tamil Nadu, providing subsidised food grains to over 2 crore ration cardholders across the state. The state government has been promoting the use of POS devices to bring transparency to the system, but frequent technical breakdowns have emerged as a recurring challenge in several districts.
Union representatives said they had raised the issue with higher officials earlier, but no corrective action was taken, prompting the decision to deposit the machines at the Taluk Supply Officer’s office. They appealed for urgent intervention to prevent further hardship to the public.
Officials assured that the matter was being looked into and that alternative arrangements, including manual distribution if required, would be explored to avoid a prolonged disruption. However, no specific timeline has been announced for resolving the server issues.
The incident highlights the dependence of fair price shops on digital infrastructure and the need for robust technical support to ensure seamless delivery of essential services. It also underscores the vulnerability of welfare schemes to technology failures, which can have immediate consequences for beneficiaries.
