Odisha’s First Grain ATM For Ration Card Holders Opens In Bhubaneswar

Bhubaneswar: Odisha’s first Grain ATM for distribution of PDS rice was inaugurated by Food Supplies and Consumer Welfare Minister Krushna Chandra Patra at a warehouse in Mancheswar area of Bhubaneswar on Thursday.

The Automated Multi-Commodity Grain Dispensing Machine has been set up under ‘Annapurti’ initiative of the Union Government and the service will be subsequently extended to all 30 districts of the state, the minister said.

HOW IT WORKS

Ration card holders have to put in their ration card number on the display monitor with touchscreen and the machine will dispense rice, weighing 25 kg, in 35 seconds after biometric authentication, which may take about a minute, of a family member mentioned in the card. The rice is collected in a gunny bag attached to the 2-metric-tonne capacity machine, officials said.

The beneficiary can call on a helpline desk number in case of any issue and it will be resolved in a day or two. An operator and an in-charge have also been posted at standalone ATM to help them, they said, adding this is an alternative for fair price shops.