Karwar: Minister U T Khader said Uttara Kannada is the first district is state to clear all new ration card applications.

He told reporters on Thursday that out of the 23,516 new applications, 15,000 new ration cards were dispatched through speed post and the remaining cards will be sent soon.

He said 16.5 lakh applications for new ration cards were received in the state, of which three lakh cards have pointed after verification. The department will clear the remaining application soon.

With the implementation of new technology, including bio metric system, nearly 10 lakh fake cards were canceled in the state. With that, the state has saved 40,000 metric tonnes of rice, he said.

The government has plan to convert the fair price shops as ‘Citizen Care Centres’, where people can get all online facilities from PAN card to passport. This will help the people as well as the shop owners, he added.

Press meet Video of UT Khadar at Karwar: