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 Now that country has completely withdrawn from one child policy.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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Speaker rules out discussion on Guv''s conduct amid K''taka Assembly standoff
Bengaluru (PTI): In an effort to end the logjam over the Governor's address that has stalled proceedings for the past week, Karnataka Assembly Speaker U T Khader on Wednesday ruled that legislators should not discuss Thaawarchand Gehlot or his conduct in the house, saying such debates send the wrong message to the public.
The House has witnessed repeated disruptions and adjournments since the session began on January 22 over the issue of the governor's conduct.
During his address to the joint sitting of the Karnataka legislature on January 22, Gehlot read out only three sentences from the 122-paragraph speech prepared by the state government.
The speech included criticism of the Centre for replacing the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) with the Viksit Bharat–Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajivika Mission (Gramin) (VB-G RAM G), portions of which the governor declined to read.
Concluding his address in about two minutes, the governor left the house, triggering a commotion as Congress legislators attempted to gherao him and raised slogans.
While the opposition BJP accused the ruling Congress and its ministers of "insulting" the governor and demanded action, the treasury benches countered by claiming the governor had "insulted the National Anthem by leaving before it was played."
The house again witnessed heated arguments on the issue earlier in the day, leading to adjournment.
During the interruption, Khader held a meeting with ministers and opposition members to resolve the impasse.
When proceedings resumed, the speaker delivered his ruling.
Referring to the events of January 22 and the subsequent debate, Khader said the conduct and discussions had conveyed the wrong message to the public.
"Our conduct as members of this House and the opinions expressed must be in good taste and in accordance with constitutional provisions. They must uphold the dignity of the House and its members. We must introspect in this direction," he said.
He stressed the need for caution to ensure that such incidents are not repeated in the future.
"Let us end this matter here, continue the discussion on the motion of thanks to the governor, and refrain from discussing the governor or his conduct in this house," the speaker said.
Leader of the Opposition R Ashoka said the house should express regret over what he termed an "insult" to the governor.
Responding, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said the situation would not have arisen had the governor read out the entire address.
"Asking the house to express regret is not appropriate. Why did the governor leave even before the National Anthem was played," Siddaramaiah asked.
BJP MLA S Suresh Kumar reminded Siddaramaiah that as Leader of the Opposition in 2011, he had asked then Governor Hansraj Bhardwaj to curtail his address.
Bhardwaj had subsequently placed the address on the table of the house, requesting members to treat it as read.
Siddaramaiah said the situation in January 2011 was different from the present one.
The debate grew intense, leading to another adjournment of the house.
