Over 200 public distribution system (PDS) dealers from across Dhanbad district sat on a daylong dharna at Randhir Verma Chowk on Monday, demanding monthly honorarium instead of commission on the lines of the system followed in states like Tamil Nadu.

The protesters under the banner of Fair Price Dealers' Association, led by district secretary Halim Khan, later handed over a memorandum to Dhanbad deputy commissioner Kripa Nand Jha. They also complained about the faulty process of allotment of ration cards to many undeserving families at the expense of BPL beneficiaries.

Khan said over 23,000 PDS shop owners from across the state would stage a dharna in Ranchi next month followed by a gherao of the Assembly in March.

"We will also send postcards to President Pranab Mukherjee to apprise him of our pitiable condition. If the government fails to meet our demands, we will resort to an indefinite strike from Labour Day on May 1," said Khan.

He added they welcomed implementation of the Food Security Act in Jharkhand, which mandated distribution of foodgrains like rice and wheat among the poor, but the dealers didn't even earn Rs 2,000 per month under the prevailing commission system.

"A commission of Rs 40 has been fixed on sale of one quintal of foodgrain and each shop owner gets 25 to 40 quintals. Thus, he earns somewhere between Rs 1,000 and Rs 1,600. Income from kerosene oil is even less as only 10 paise commission is fixed for one litre. The transportation cost of each drum containing 200 litres of kerosene is Rs 350 while the income from commission is just Rs 20. Each dealer suffers a loss of Rs 330," he said<>," Khan said.

He pointed out that several states like Tamil Nadu had already fixed honorarium of around Rs 12,000 per month for PDS shop owners.