Distribution of Pongal gift hampers begins in Madurai district

Distribution of Pongal gift hampers began in Madurai district on Thursday, with Minister for Commercial Taxes and Registration P. Moorthy formally inaugurating it. He distributed the gift hampers to card holders at various fair price shops in the district.

The Minister inaugurated the scheme in the presence of Madurai Collector K.J. Praveen Kumar, Sholavandan MLA A. Venkatesan, Deputy Mayor T. Nagarajan, District Revenue Officer K. Anbalagan and other officials.

Mr. Moorthy said the State government announced the gift hamper for 2026 so that people can celebrate the festival in a grand manner. Pongal gift hampers consist of one kg of raw rice, one kg of sugar, one sugarcane, dhoti, saree and ₹3000 in cash.

As announced, the pongal gift hampers will be distributed to the rice ration cardholders and to the families residing in Sri Lankan Tamil rehabilitation camps, he said.

In Madurai district, the gift hampers will be distributed to 9.46 lakh rice ration cardholders. All arrangements have been made to distribute the pongal gift hampers to the cardholders through the fair price shops before the festival. To prevent overcrowding, arrangements have been made to issue tokens to people.