Bag full of ration cards found near highway in Shiroor
Byndoor, June 21: A bag containing more than two thousand ration cards was found near national highway in Shiroor on June 21, Thursday afternoon.
The ration cards that belongs to Bantwal taluk were filled in a cement bag and was abandoned near Green Valley school in Shiroor on national highway here, said Tahsildar.
After receiving information at around 12am we went to the spot and during inquiry we found that these were old cancelled cards, he said.
The bag contained ration cards sanctioned during 2008 to 2015-16. It had Antyodaya cards, BPL, APL and other cards said Byndoor revenue inspector.
Bantwal taluk office has been informed about the incident and we are expecting an answer from them, he said. It is yet to be known who had thrown these cards there, he added.
All the cards were seized in front of Byndoor PSI, tahsildar, and revenue department officers. These cards have been handed over to food inspector of Kundapur taluk office, he said.
DC clarifies
The ration cards that were found in a bag near Green Valley in Shiroor have been examined. There were around 2000 ration cards in the bag. These were returned cards to avail new one and belongs to Bantwal taluk in Dakshina Kannada district.
Dakshina Kannada district food, civil supplies and consumer affair departments have been asked to take these cards and dispose accordingly, said Udupi DC Priyanka Mary Francis in a press meet.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Telangana survey flags 89,000 child labourers, highlights caste disparities in employment
Hyderabad: A caste-based survey conducted by the Telangana government for 2024–25 has identified around 89,000 children engaged in labour across the state, with a large share belonging to Scheduled Caste (SC) and Scheduled Tribe (ST) communities.
The findings are part of the Socio, Economic, Educational, Employment, Political and Caste (SEEEPC) Survey, which covered about 3.5 crore people across 242 caste groups. According to the report, nearly one per cent of individuals below 18 years are involved in daily wage work. While the percentage appears small, officials noted that the absolute number reflects a serious concern.
The survey found that 11 per cent of identified child labourers belong to the ST Lambadi community, while 14 per cent are from the SC Madiga community. The highest incidence was reported among the ST Kolam group, where 7.2 per cent of minors are engaged in daily wage labour.
The data also revealed wider socio-economic disparities. Nearly half of the Scheduled Caste population is dependent on daily wage work, while only around 5 per cent are employed in the private sector, compared to about 30 per cent among General Castes.
State Welfare Minister Ponnam Prabhakar said the findings show that SC and ST communities remain three times more backward than General Castes, while Backward Classes are about 2.7 times more disadvantaged.
The report further noted that, on average, 31.3 per cent of people in the 25–65 age group depend on daily wage work. Among communities, the BC-A Odde group recorded the highest share at 55 per cent. In contrast, only 2.6 per cent of OC Brahmins rely on such work.
Several SC and ST communities, including Kolam, Beda, Madiga, Koya, Gond, Yerukulas and Mala Sale, were found to have among the highest proportions of daily wage earners. On the other hand, most General Caste communities and some Backward Class groups such as Goldsmiths and BC-C Christians showed lower dependence on daily wage employment.
The survey also pointed to inequalities in access to formal employment. Communities such as OC Rajus, OC Brahmins and Kapus were found to have a higher presence in private sector jobs, with up to 27 per cent of their population employed in such roles.
