Excess food needs to reach the hungry
Hunger is the basic urge granted by nature to humankind. But humans have turned it into some sort of disease generating process. As a result of insatiable hunger, lakhs of people are dying all over the world.
A lot of people are struggling with malnourishment and underdevelopment aided illnesses, hanging between life and death. The earth, which is the most enriched creation of god, is filled with impoverishment despite the rich resources it has.
None of the poverty or hunger was created by god. Man’s greed has to do with every shortage of resources we face today. And humans alone are accountable to find solutions for that. India isn’t lagging behind in creating hunger and perpetuating it further. As per reports, more than 14.9% population of the country is malnourished.
Which means, more than half of malnourished people are in our country. And most of them don’t even know if they would get the next meal or not. Reports reveal more than 20 crore people go to bed hungry. Many accounts of hunger deaths have been reported in 2018. This bitter truth is always masked with sweet lies or hollow promises. Global Hunger Index 2018 pus India in 103rd place among the 119 countries that made to the list.
But the true picture, apart from the beautiful fakes projected by the media, is very different from the ones we are served.
This is the proof to the fact that when it comes to common people, not everything is in order. Why is India, that enjoys nature’s bounty, facing such a difficult situation when it comes to hunger? Experts have already opined that unfair distribution of resources is the main reason for the prevailing hunger in India, and not excess population as commonly assumed.
China which took the step of controlling population in order to reduce poverty, is also facing this mammoth task of having to tend to the aged, who are increasing in number with every passing day. Now that country has completely withdrawn from one child policy. We need to honestly think about harnessing population, assuming that being the most priced resource to aid progress.
We also need to accept the fact that we have failed in controlling poverty. In order to celebrate our short success, we cannot allow the poor to die unattended. Though we may not be able to solve the issue of poverty in complete sense, we can certainly work towards protecting the poor.
We may not be able to build palaces for the homeless, but we can certainly provide them a safe place to stay or a roof on their heads. We may not be able increase the standard of their life, but we can most certainly solve some of their problems.
We may not be able to provide them multi-course meals, but we can ensure they don’t go to bed hungry. We are not facing food scarcity. As per the reports, India produces enough to feed her people, but the failure lies in distribution of this food.Our resources are getting divided unequally and unjustifiably.
We are also wasting a lot of food. On one hand, we have people dying of hunger, and on the other, huge quantity of food is reaching the waste basket. As per an estimate, more than one third of the food produced is being wasted annually. Inefficient packing and supply methods contribute to 40% fruits and vegetables getting wasted before they reach the consumers. More than 30% grains turn unfit for consumption.
Prevailing methods of processing and supply chains contribute to wastage of paddy and other food grains. Fully ripen fruits are discarded with the anticipation that they’d rot even before they reach the destination. Vegetables and food items meet the same fate.
All these rejected items turn into a big part of ‘wastage’ which can be taken to the poor and hungry. Our marriages, occasions where we serve food, events, restaurants, lodges, hotels and homes waste a lot of food. Marriages see a lot of food wastage with varieties of items being served to those who discard mercilessly because they are not hungry, but are only tasting the food there. As a result, a lot of food lands in the waste bin.
One of the best chefs in the world, Massimo Bottura of Italian origin, has come up with a new idea. He has created a collective called Food for Soul. This organization ensures the food that is excess, is taken to the poor and hungry instead of landing in waste bins. This way he is saving food as well as the people.
A ‘food bank’ can serve well for our people who reach the brink of life owing to hunger and malnourishment. If that is done, India will save its face and the country can do better than watch people die of hunger.
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Strict security measures in place in Mumbai for Messi's events at 2 venues Dec 14, say police
Mumbai (PTI): In view of Argentine superstar footballer Lionel Messi's visit to Mumbai on Sunday, the city police are implementing stringent security measures, like not allowing water bottles, metals, coins inside the stadiums and setting up watchtowers to keep an eye on the crowd, officials said.
The police also said taking extra care to avoid any stampede-like situation and to prevent recurrence of the chaotic situation that unfolded in Kolkata during Messi's visit on Saturday as thousands of fans protested inside the Salt Lake stadium here after failing to catch a clear glimpse of the football icon despite paying hefty sums for tickets.
Messi is expected to be present at the Cricket Club of India (Brabourne Stadium) in Mumbai on Sunday for a Padel GOAT Cup event followed by attending a celebrity football match. He is expected to proceed to the Wankhede Stadium for the GOAT India Tour main event around 5 pm.
"In view of Lionel Messi's visit to Mumbai, the police are geared up and have put in place a high level of security arrangements in and around the stadiums located in south Mumbai. Considering the chaos that prevailed in Kolkata and the security breach, we have deployed World Cup-level security arrangements at Brabourne and Wankhede stadiums," an official said.
Expecting heavy crowd near the stadiums during Messi's visit, the city police force has deployed more than 2,000 of its personnel near and around both the venues, he said.
As the Mumbai police have the experience of security 'bandobast' during the victory parade of ICC World Cup-winning Indian team and World Cup final match at the Wankhede Stadium, in which over one lakh cricket fans had gathered, we are prepared to handle a large crowd of fans, he said.
"We are trying to avoid the errors that occurred in the past," the official said.
There is no place to sneak inside the stadiums in Mumbai like the Kolkata stadium, according to him.
The police are also asking the organisers to provide all the required facilities to the fans inside the stadium, so that there will be no chaos, he said, adding the spectators have purchased tickets in the range of Rs 5,000 to 25,000. After paying so much of amount, any spectator expects proper services, while enjoying the event, he said.
The police are expecting 33,000 spectators at the Wankhede Stadium and over 4,000 at Brabourne Stadium. Besides this, more than 30,000 people are expected outside and around the stadiums just to have a glimpse of the football sensation, he said.
The organisers responsible for Messi's India visit recently came to Mumbai to discuss security arrangements. During the meeting, the Mumbai police asked them not to take the event lightly, according to the official.
After those requirements were fulfilled, the final security deployment was chalked out, he said.
Police has the standard procedure of the security arrangements inside the Wankhede Stadium, where people are barred from taking water bottles, metals objects, coins. Police are setting up watch towers near the stadiums and there will be traffic diversions, so that there is maximum space available to stand, according to the official.
Police are also appealing to the spectators to use public transport service for commuting and avoid personal vehicles to reach south Mumbai.
To avoid any stampede-like situation, police are also taking precautionary measures and will stop the fans some distance ahead of the stadium and public announcement systems will be used to guide the crowd. Barricades will be placed at various places to manage the crowd.
In case the crowd swells up beyond expectation, the police will divert people to other grounds and preparations in this regard underway, he said.
Additional police force has been deployed in south Mumbai to tackle any kind of situation, he said.
