Bhubaneswar: Odisha Khadya Adhikar Abhijan and Civil Society Forum for Human Rights, at a conference in Lohia Academy here Sunday, urged the state government to conduct a survey immediately to identify food insecure families in the state. Noted environmentalist Prafulla Samantara, researcher Ravi Sankar Behera and advocate Sujata Jena raised concerns about the recent death of two women in Kandhamal district due to the consumption of mango Kernel. The panel pointed out that due to a shortage of food grains, two women of Mandipanka village in Daringbadi block were forced to consume fungus-infested mango kernel gruel, which could have caused food contamination, leading to food poisoning and death.
A four-member fact-finding team, recently went to Christian Sahi of Mandipanka village and submitted a report which reveals that the subsidised rice (5 kg per person), provided through public distribution system (PDS) to marginal families is insufficient, as they prefer to eat rice three times a day. “The rice lasts only for 15 to 17 days in a month. When the grain starts to exhaust, they mix rice with mango kernel or mandia or sometimes eat only mango kernel gruel. The families last received rice under PDS in July, jointly for the month of July, August and September. The families were supposed to receive grain in October but got November 3,” the report read. The team also found that there is limited or no work opportunity in the village.
So most men go to other states such as Kerala in search of work in factories, quarries, hotels, construction sites, rubber plantations and beer bars as migrant labourers. Those who stay back have job cards and get work under MGNREGS for a week or so. They alleged that they have not received work for last three months under the scheme, panelists stated. The report also mentions that the names of few women and children have not been included in the government’s subsidised PDS ration cards due to various reasons. “This omission points to gross administrative negligence,” they stated. Around 90 per cent of the total households in the village are living under abject poverty and semi-starvation conditions with little or no liquid cash. The incident highlights the dire situation of food insecurity and the state of endemic and chronic hunger, Samantara said. It is essential that the state government undertakes a survey on an urgent basis to identify food insecure families. Food grain distribution under PDS must be on a regular basis. Each holder should be provided with 12kg of food grain along with cooking oil and dal. Doorstep delivery of PDS should be undertaken in remote villages, the panelists stated.