HYDERABAD, APR 26  –  The Hyderabad district administration has set up a system allowing people to get themselves registered for rations via SMS.

They have to send an SMS with the word ‘Ration’ and their CNIC number and send it to 88434. They will then get a token via mobile which will allow them to receive the rations.

The district administration has developed an app to help manage this system. It has a data bank of over 9,000 names and the app tells them whether the person who has registered has already received rations.

If it’s a repeated CNIC number we get a message, said one official. He explained that they have received over 7,000 requests so far and they are working to deliver the rations.

The rations are paid for by NGOs and charitable organisations, not the government.