Dharwad: Slum dwellers, who are beneficiaries of the Anna Bhagya scheme, have demanded that the state government continued to provide them with food grains at subsidised rates instead of crediting money into their bank accounts.

The Slum Janandolana local unit in a memorandum submitted to the government through the district administration has demanded that the National Food Security Act, 2013, be implemented to ensure that no one died of hunger. Chief Minister Siddaramaiah had launched the Anna Bhagya Scheme to supply food grains at subsidised rates to the poor and the needy.

However, at the behest of some higher officials, the government stopped the supply of food grains at subsidised rates and had decided to credit money to the bank accounts of the beneficiaries.

Minister for Food and Civil Supplies U T Khader had recently announced that the government would credit Rs 800 to the bank accounts of Anna Bhagya beneficiaries and would stop supplying food grains.

This move would hit families who were unable to buy food grains paying advance cash. The poor were not able to buy rice at Rs 50 per kg in the open market, the release said.