80,000 BPL cards changed to APL in Bengaluru

BENGALURU: Atlreast 80, 000 BPL (Below Poverty Line) cards are being revised and are being shifted to APL (Above Poverty Line) in the city. As these cards have been removed from the BPL category, women are in tears and are upset. They are running around the Food and Civil Supplies Department every day as they are not receiving rice.

The revision of BPL cards in Bengaluru is based on ownership of a house, payment of taxes and income from three acres of land. The central government has deleted roughly 80,000 cards across Bengaluru.

For the past three to four months, the holders of those 80,000 cards have not received rice. Those whose cards were deleted are visiting the Food Department office in Rajajinagar. Hundreds of women, holding BPL cards, say they are not paying taxes and have no land and no house of their own, yet the officials are not listening.

Residents from Vijayanagar, Sunkadakatte, Laggere, Kamakshipalya, Agrahara, Dasarahalli, and many other areas are coming forward with their cards and documents to clarify their status. The officials, however, are allegedly behaving irresponsibly.

People are demanding that the government intervene immediately and restore the deleted cards. The Food and Civil Supplies Department says that the shift from BPL to APL is done after checking proper evidence, information, and verifying documents. Nevertheless, citizens have expressed their anger against the government over the move.