KOCHI: Minister G R Anil said SupplyCo supermarkets will launch food kits worth Rs 1,000 in the market aiming middle class consumers. The minister said this while convening a press meet at the head office of SupplyCo in Gandhi Nagar, Ernakulam. Each supermarket will distribute at least 250 kits each this Onam. SupplyCo has 500 supermarkets in the state. There will be a prize for every 100 kits as part of business promotion. The aim is to attract middle-class consumers to the SupplyCo outlets, which offer daily necessities at lower prices than the general market. It has nothing to do with the free food kit announced by the government during Onam.

This time there will be a little more effective intervention in the Onam market than in the past. Onam fairs will be held from August 27 to September 6 in 14 district centers and 140 assembly constituencies in collaboration with agencies such as Horticorp, Milma, Meat Product of India and Kerafed. Apart from this, metro fairs will also be opened in Thiruvananthapuram Kochi and Kozhikode. The state level inauguration of Onam Fair will be held on August 27 in Thiruvananthapuram.

The center has been asked to provide 10,000 metric tonnes of ragi at the same price as the allotment of wheat distributed free to 57 % card holders in the state, has been suspended for one year. Similarly, for the last two to three months, the distribution of free rice to orphanages etc has also been stopped. The minister also said that the union food minister has assured that this too will be resumed from next month. There are more than 900 welfare institutions and 36,000 inmates in the state. He said the Center has assured that 22,000 kiloliters of non-subsidized kerosene will be allotted.