Supreme Court seeks Centre's response on PIL for community kitchens to combat hunger, malnutrition
New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday sought response from the Centre and others on a plea seeking directions to all the states and Union Territories to formulate a scheme for implementing the concept of community kitchens to combat hunger, malnutrition and deaths due to starvation.
A bench comprising justices N V Ramana and Ajay Rastogi issued notices to the Centre and others on the plea which also sought a direction to the National Legal Services Authority (NLSA) to formulate a scheme to mitigate deaths resulting from hunger, malnutrition and starvation.
At the outset, the bench wondered how NALSA was related to the issue.
"Why should NALSA be involved in this?" the bench asked advocate Ashima Mandla, appearing for petitioners and social activists Anun Dhawan, Ishann Dhawan and Kunjana Singh.
The bench initially said these are policy matters and it is for the government to take a decision on these issues. Later, the bench agreed to examine the issue and asked the Centre, various other ministries and the NALSA to file their responses.
The public interest litigation (PIL) has sought a direction to the Centre to create a national food grid for people who are beyond the scope of the public distribution scheme (PDS).
The plea has alleged that many children under the age of five die every day due to hunger and malnutrition and this condition was violative of several fundamental rights guaranteed under the Constitution, including the right to food and life of citizens.
The plea has referred to state-funded community kitchens being run in states like Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Odisha, Jharkhand and Delhi that serve meals at subsidised rates in hygienic conditions.
It also referred to the concepts of soup kitchen, meal centre, food kitchen or community kitchen, in other countries, where food is offered to hungry usually for free or sometimes at a below-market price.
The petition said the Centre and its various ministries have initiated and implemented schemes to combat hunger, malnutrition and the resulting starvation, although in reality, effective implementation of the schemes "was unclear and fairly limited".
"In the interest of justice and for entitlement of nutritious food, which has been held as a basic fundamental and human right, in both national and international law, alike, the establishment of community kitchens may be directed as an added mechanism for provision of nutritious food with the intent of holistically combating eradication of hunger, malnutrition and starvation in the country, and diseases, illnesses and deaths resulting thereof," the plea said.
The statistics on starvation deaths in the country are unavailable and starvation as the cause of death can only be ascertained upon autopsy, the plea said, adding that global agencies report that over three lakh children die every year in India because of hunger, whereas 38 per cent below the age of five are stunted.
"Implementation of community kitchens funded by state or in association with corporate social responsibility by a public-private partnership (PPP) may be implemented to complement the existing schemes," it said.
"Article 21 embarks that right to life does not mean mere existence, but life with dignity... the Centre and state governments as well as ministries in the present grim scenario have failed to fulfil their obligations for effectively providing food security in the country," the plea said.
It said that a 2010 report by World Food Programme on state of food insecurity in India indicates that increasing urban inequality, significant under-investment in urban health and nutrition infrastructure, workforce in casual or contract employment or even less remunerative self-employment, growth of slums and slum populations lacking in most basic health and hygiene infrastructure has resulted in permanent food and nutrition emergency in India.
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Real Madrid fines Valverde and Tchouaméni half a million euros each for altercation
Barcelona (AP): Real Madrid slapped players Federico Valverde and Aurélien Tchouaméni with half-a-million-euro ($588,000) fines on Friday for their altercation during practice.
The massive fines came a day after the midfielders tussled when the team trained. Valverde said in a post on social media on Thursday that no punches were thrown. But Valverde knocked his head on a table and he suffered a small cut that required a brief hospital visit.
On social media, Valverde initially called it a “meaningless fight” with a teammate and said “everything has been blown out of proportion."
His employers, however, considered it a significant enough breach of team discipline to nail both Valverde and Tchouaméni with fines that bite even the bank account of a top soccer player. The half-a-million euro penalties reflect the reputational damage the club was enduring in a chaotic end to a disappointing season.
In a statement, the 15-time European champion said its disciplinary action was concluded after both players expressed to the club “their complete remorse for what happened and apologized to one another.”
Madrid added they also apologized to their teammates, the coaching staff and club supporters, as well as showing their willingness to accept whatever disciplinary action the club deemed “opportune.”
Tchouaméni was back training with Madrid on Friday, two days before they play at Barcelona in a clasico. Madrid has to win otherwise Barcelona will be crowned La Liga champion.
After being notified of the fine, he posted a public apology to the club and its fans on social media.
“What happened this week in training is unacceptable,” Tchouaméni wrote. "I say this while thinking about the example we are expected to set for young people, whether in football or at school.
“Above all, I am sorry for the image we projected of the club.”
Valverde was not at practice due to the head knock.
Both players are set to play in the World Cup next month, with Tchouaméni playing for France and Valverde for Uruguay.
Chaotic end to a poor season
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The run-in between the players, who for seasons have played side by side in Madrid's midfield, came after they argued this week in previous training sessions. But tempers boiled over on Thursday. Spanish media was rife with reports that the players previously disagreed over the club's decision to let coach Xabi Alonso go after just months on the job.
It was not the only altercation involving Madrid players during training this week. Álvaro Carreras confirmed he was in a “minor” incident with a teammate. Spanish media said he and fellow defender Antonio Rüdiger got into a scuffle.
Álvaro Arbeloa, the coach who was promoted from Madrid's reserve team when Alonso was fired in January, will face tough questions on what went wrong inside the changing room when he gives a press conference on Saturday ahead of the clasico at Camp Nou.
Madrid is facing a second consecutive campaign without a major trophy amid rumors in the Spanish media that club president Florentino Pérez is considering bringing back Jose Mourinho to straighten out his underperforming team.
