Heed the cries of hunger
In the midst of the Coronavirus pandemic, the world is not as much dismayed at the deaths due to the infection as much as it is at the deaths due to hunger. At one level, It can be accepted that disease is part of nature But the collective inability to address hunger in the world is not a natural problem. Mass hunger is a man-made problem and the series of deaths that are occurring due to hunger is indeed a massacre committed by man. And the number of these murders during the time of Coronavirus has only doubled. Recognizing the importance of efforts to eradicate hunger, this year’s Nobel Peace Prize has been awarded to the World Food Programme (WFP). The WFP has bagged the prestigious award for its mammoth efforts towards hunger eradication from Yemen to North Korea after the Coronavirus pandemic pushed crores of people towards hunger. This has in in a way reiterated the role of developing countries such as India in fighting hunger and has sent out a message that the focus should be on removing peoples’ hunger instead of wasting money on religion or erecting statues.
In India, the Public Distribution System (PDS) has been taking a back seat for nearly a decade due to various factors. The main reason for this is that the measures of poverty are being changed in order to show a fall in the overall number of the officially recognized poor. Changing the method of estimating poverty essentially meant reducing the number of the poor by excluding those who were identified as poor and keeping them below poverty line. With this, substantial funds to the PDS was saved. But, there is a direct link between the alarming levels of malnutrition and the failure of the PDS. A recent study has revealed the shocking reality that the families that have the maximum need for free food grains have been kept out of the PDS. A report of this study was published last week in Nutritional Journal, a magazine published by BioMed Central.
For this particular study, data from the National Family Health Survey-4 was used. The study has exposed the inefficiency in the distribution of BPL cards that has deprived the poor of benefitting from the re-distributional programmes such as PDS. This report has identified about 15 per cent of families as ‘real poor’ (economically backward and those who have the BPL card or green card.) About 16 per cent have been identified as economically poor but without BPL cards and about 23 per cent as not being economically poor but who possess welfare cards. About 46 per cent of those who have welfare cards have been identified as not being economically poor.
Of the surveyed families, about 57 per cent of those who either use or do not use PDS have at least one child with stunted growth. Of those who are not identified as poor by the government, about 36 per cent of the families have at least one child who has stunted growth. In Uttar Pradesh, about 27 per cent families are deprived of basic needs and do not have PDS or BPL cards. In Bihar, this number is about 15 per cent and in Jharkhand it is 21 per cent. Similarly, in Karnataka, Telangana, and Andhra Pradesh, it has been found that families that are not deemed poor have BPL cards.
The study has also shown that problems such as stunted growth and low body weight can be found in children who have been kept out of PDS and subsidy systems. Also, it has revealed that in many states the number of children with stunted growth and who are out of the gamut of the PDS and subsidized food system is more than the actual number of poor families. It has exposed the fact that families that have the maximum need for welfare measures have not been included in these programmes. The study has recommended that including poor families as beneficiaries of welfare programmes should be prioritized and welfare programmes should include provisions for the availability and distribution of food. It has also asserted the need to improve the quality of nutritious food provided under the PDS and expand the food inventory to help reduce malnutrition.
At present, the Coronavirus has reduced the gap between the poorest of the poor, the poor, and middle-class people. In a way, those who were called as ‘middle-class’ have been demoted as the ‘poor.’ But, the government records do not identify them as poor and at the same time, the number of the poor without the card has increased. It is important then that not only the poor below the poverty line but also the poor not identified as poor should be effectively included in the PDS. The government should accept that winning over the Coronavirus also means winning the war against hunger.
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Hours after Kharge's snub, Bengal Cong chief Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury sticks to his anti-Mamata stance
Kolkata, May 18: In a veiled reference to West Bengal Chief Minister and TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee, state Congress president Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury said he cannot speak in favour of someone who wants to finish him politically and his party in the state.
His comment comes hours after Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge asserted that Chowdhury is no one to take a decision on whether Banerjee would be part of the INDIA bloc in the event of the anti-BJP alliance coming to power after the Lok Sabha polls.
Asked about Kharge’s statement, Chowdhury, who is seeking re-election from Baharampur on a Congress ticket, said, “I cannot speak in favour of someone who wants to finish me politically and our party in Bengal. This is a battle for every Congress worker. I have spoken on their behalf.”
Stating that his opposition to Banerjee stemmed from his principled stance, not from his interest, Chowdhury said “There is no personal grudge but I question her political ethics."
Asked about Mamata Banerjee's comment that she will support the INDIA bloc government from the outside and Chowdhury's remark that the Bengal CM cannot be trusted and she might go with the BJP, Kharge told reporters, "Mamata Banerjee is with the alliance. She has recently said that she will join the government. Adhir Ranjan Chowdhary will not take the decision. The decision will be taken by me and the high command those who don't agree will go out."
Chowdhury also alleged that Banerjee had "taken Maoists' help to discredit the Left in Purulia, Bankura and Jhargram and then abandoned them.
“I don’t want the state Congress to be used for her personal agenda and then finish the organisation. If Kharge ji speaks against my views, I will continue to speak for Congressmen at the grassroots in the state.”
The TMC is contesting the Lok Sabha elections alone in the state, while the Congress and the Left are jointly fighting.
