Aadhar card not mandatory to get ration in Jharkhand

JAMSHEDPUR (INDIA): The Jharkhand government today said Aadhaar card was not mandatory to collect food grains from the public distribution system after a 11-year-old girl allegedly died of starvation.nnLocal activists had alleged that the girl died of starvation on September 28 after her family was denied ration for the want of an Aadhar-linked ration card.nn”Aadhaar card is not mandatory. Any card, including a driver’s license and voter ID card or any specified card, is permissible for procuring food grains,” the state’s Food Minister Saryu Roy said.nnA toll free number- 1800 212 55 12–had been set up to lodge complaints regarding ration distribution, Roy said, adding that grain banks would also be set up in every block.nnMeanwhile, a fresh probe announced by Chief Minister Raghubar Das on October 17 had found that the girl died of malaria, officials said.nnThe first probe by a three-member team, which was constituted on October 6, also examined the case and found the girl died of malaria, they said.nnSource: Press Trust of India