Lucknow, Apr 30 (IANS): Uttar Pradesh has sought a 77,000 kilo litre increase in the kerosene it receives from the centre to increase its monthly allotment to 200,312 kilo litres, a minister said on Saturday.

Food and Civil Supplies Minister Kamal Akhtar said the tri-monthly quota will then rise to 600,936 kilo-litres.

In a letter to union Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, Akhtar has pointed out that that there were nearly four crore ration card holders in the state, and that there was a continuous and consistent increase in the numbers.

The kerosene which is allotted to the state is not able to reach each and every beneficiary, he said.

Every ration card holder family gets a minimum of five litres of kerosene and the monthly supply is 123,312 kilo-litres, leading to a shortfall of 77,000 kilo-litres.

The minister said that almost 68 percent of the population resides in rural areas.
"We need more treatment centres and trained paediatric oncology doctors and nurses." she added.

"Affordable accredited paediatric oncology centres are a must along with quality cancer drugs," Bagai said.