Ration cards of foreigners to be cancelled: Minister

As the government has started verification of foreign nationals living in the state in the aftermath of the Pahalgam terror attack, Food Supplies Minister Krushna Chandra Patra on Monday said most of them have been found to possess ration cards and action is being taken to cancel them.

- EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE @ Bhubaneswar

Patra told mediapersons here that a majority of the foreign nationals, including Pakistanis, Bangladeshis and a few Myanmarese residing in the state, have obtained ration cards by influencing local politicians or adopting other illegal means. This has been confirmed during the ongoing verification.

Describing it as a serious matter, the minister said instructions have been issued to department authorities to work in coordination with district administrations to find ration cards in possession of foreign nationals and take prompt action to remove them from the NFSA and SFSS database.