Kochi: A man denied of BPL ration card attempted self-immolation at the taluk supply office, Aluva, on Saturday.
Abdu Rahman, 81, doused himself in petrol in front of the office around 12 p.m. demanding a change of status from above poverty line (APL) to below poverty line (BPL).
Officials and locals overpowered him before he could set himself ablaze and handed over to the police, who released him after a medical checkup.
Mr Rahman said he had been visiting there for the past one and half years with an application for the change.
He was not receiving his rightful ration items from the shop because of the careless attitude of the concerned officials. The family lives on a ‘Poramboke’ land at Edathala. “We can’t afford much, and we need a BPL card to live," he said.
"I have approached many offices for this purpose. As we are living on Poramboke, I obtained a certificate from the panchayat and participated in Adalats four times. We didn't get a card for over one and a half years and, when they finally issued one last month, it was a white card (APL).”
According to taluk supply officials, the process of issuing a BPL card was underway, and it was a technical delay that he misinterpreted to take the extreme step. “A process of re-issuance would happen soon,” an official said.
