Coimbatore gets first Kishan ration shop

COIMBATORE: The Kishan Research and Development Centre in the district on Saturday opened its first Kishan ration shop in the city near Lala Mahal in Rathinapuri.


The Kishan ration shops promise to sell farm fresh products at a fixed price and other grocery items at a subsidized rate, like what is available in cooperative department stores.

Though officials of the centre said they have opened 25 Kishan ration shops across the district, they declined to reveal the locations to the media.

These shops sell farm products acquired straight from the farm gate at a price profitable to farmers and beneficial to consumers.

The Rathinapuri shop, which they are displaying as a model shop, has rice, wheat, pulses, spices, vegetables and other dairy products. It also has consumer durables like coffee powder, tea leaves, tea powder and even soaps. The centre has another shop at Alandur which is already functioning.

While the Rathinapuri shop seems to be the centre’s flagship store, officials refused to reveal the exact locations of the remaining 23 shops in the region including the ones that were reportedly opened in Peelamedu and Periyanaickenpalayam.

“We have opened only four shops so far and others are delayed because of the model code of conduct. Once the poll code is lifted next week, we will immediately open the remaining shops,” an official attached to the Kishan Research and Development Centre said. “The shops in other locations are too small and there is nothing special about them,” he said.

The Rathinapuri shop displays a range of household products. “It is useful as it is much cheaper than other retail stores. They sell 25kg ponni rice at Rs 850 against Rs 1,400. Pulses are sold at Rs 80 per kg against the market price Rs 125,” said K Dharma, a visitor.

Under this scheme, the central government plans to open one outlet for every 500 ration cards by 2022. This means there would be around 1.68 lakh such shops across the state.