Chennai, Dec 23 (IANS) The Tamil Nadu government will distribute tokens for collecting Pongal gift hampers five days ahead of the festival, Additional Chief Secretary J. Radhakrishnan said on Monday.
The Pongal festival, one of Tamil Nadu’s most significant celebrations, is scheduled for January 15 this year.
As part of the festivities, the state government provides gift hampers that include free dhotis, sarees, and cash for family cardholders across the state.
Last year, the Pongal gift hamper consisted of one kg of brown rice, one kg of sugar, a whole sugarcane, and Rs 1,000 in cash.
Public expectations for this year’s gift hamper are high, and Chief Minister M.K. Stalin is expected to make an official announcement soon.
Speaking to reporters, Additional Chief Secretary Radhakrishnan stated that efforts are underway to procure the materials required for the hampers, such as rice, sugar, and clothes.
The distribution process will begin five days before Pongal to ensure timely delivery. This year’s monetary gift of Rs 1,000, accompanied by a package of 21 essential items for the festival, including rice, sugar, tamarind, and sugarcane, aims to reduce the financial burden on families, allowing them to celebrate without additional expenses.
In previous years, the distribution of Pongal hampers through ration shops faced criticism due to inefficiencies in reaching intended recipients.
To address this, the government is considering a shift to direct bank transfers for the cash component of the gift.
This method ensures that family heads receive the monetary gift directly in their active bank accounts, provided the accounts maintain a minimum balance.
However, if challenges arise with bank transfers, the funds will be distributed through ration shops, as done traditionally.
To prevent overcrowding, the government plans to issue special tokens to ration cardholders.
The Tamil Nadu government has also ordered the production of 1.77 crore dhotis and an equal number of sarees for the 2025 Pongal festival.
The Handlooms, Handicrafts, Textiles, and Khadi Department has allocated Rs 100 crore for the procurement of yarn and payment of wages to weavers involved in this project.
The government has decided to produce 1,77,64,476 sarees and 1,77,22,995 dhotis through state-run cooperative societies.
These will be distributed to ration cardholders and beneficiaries under the Old Age Pension Scheme. It is decided to use cotton yarn for the 2024-25 production cycle, while polyester yarn will be introduced for 2025-26.
This decision benefits 63,000 power looms across the state.
Compared to last year’s production of nearly one crore dhotis and 1.24 crore sarees, this year has seen an increase of 77 lakh dhotis and 53 lakh sarees.
–IANS
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