Smart rice cards riddled with errors; beneficiaries left in the lurch

The new smart rice cards have become a source of frustration for thousands of ration beneficiaries. Errors in printing, wrong details, and arbitrary allotments have forced many to run from one depot to another, unsure where their cards are.

Cardholders report names mangled in translation, incorrect addresses, and photographs of strangers on their cards. In some cases, Urdu letters appear with Telugu numbers. Family details have also been misprinted, with husbands listed as fathers and sons as brothers. Officials admit that 5–10% of cards in each depot carry such mistakes.

Civil supplies authorities say corrections can be made by submitting applications at local secretariats. But for beneficiaries waiting in queues for days, this has brought little relief.

The distribution process has added to the confusion. Many beneficiaries are told at depots that their cards are “not available.” With no phone number linked to cardholder details, tracking is impossible.

The problem traces back to the earlier system of ration delivery through MDU vehicles. This broke the direct link between depots and cardholders, leaving address changes unrecorded. Later, temporary staff mapped addresses to secretariats without proper checks. As a result, new cards were sent to old or wrong addresses. Even families who had collected rations from the same depot for decades found their cards redirected elsewhere.

Since distribution began, many beneficiaries have been shuttling between depots and secretariats without answers. Some also allege that dealers are not cooperating, despite depot details being available online. There are reports of dealers taking fingerprints, giving cash instead of rice, and asking people to return later.

In Visakhapatnam’s One Town area, the situation is particularly severe, with beneficiaries accusing dealers of refusing to cooperate with the smart card system.