Ahmedabad: The Gujarat State Civil Supplies Department made advance arrangements in May to ensure the timely distribution of food grains to poor and middle-class families. Unlike the usual schedule, where supplies reach ration shops after the 10th of each month, the department ensured that food grains were delivered to fair price shops from May 1 itself.

However, due to a lack of coordination in the system, distribution could not commence despite adequate physical stock being available. While government godowns were cleared and ration shops were stocked, a technical glitch in the online system prevented the activation of stock entries, halting distribution.

Even on a Sunday, authorities had taken precautionary measures and instructed ration shop operators to lift stock in advance. Despite these efforts, the system failure rendered the exercise ineffective, leaving thousands of families without access to food grains.

As the month comes to an end, the online portal of the Civil Supplies Department remains non-operational. Although food grains are physically available at ration shops, distribution has not begun as the stock is not reflected in the system due to technical issues.