India, Feb. 1 -- Over 20,000 government employees in Odisha have surrendered their ration cards as of January 31, stated Food Supplies and Consumer Welfare Minister, Krushna Chandra Patra on Friday. Notably, more than 8,000 of these surrenders were done in the last two days alone.

The revelation came close after the minister had reiterated the state government's punitive action warning to ineligible beneficiaries.

Earlier, on January 23, Patra disclosed that around 200 to 300 ineligible persons held ration cards in every block across all 30 districts of Odisha. Further, many of these individuals were reported to be financially well-off government employees.

During that same interaction, he also added that the state government had ident...