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Bengal village starves as ration cards mortgaged with money lenders -Pronab Mondal

-The New Indian Express

The poor labourers deposit their ration cards as guarantee for borrowing money to bear treatment expenditure or conduct weddings.

KOLKATA: Almost an entire village in Purulia district is starving as ration cards of around 50 families of tribal daily wagers are mortgaged with the local money lenders. The beneficiaries are now being deprived of the free food grains through public distribution system (PDS) as announced by Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee in the wake of COVID-19 threat.

The poor labourers in the Bengal’s most backward region had to deposit their ration cards, which are considered as the only ‘valuable asset’ that they possess, as guarantee for borrowing money ranging from Rs 5,000 to Rs 20,000. The poor tribals are compelled to do so for either buying train tickets to go to other states as migrants labourers, bear treatment expenditure or arrange funds for daughter’s wedding.

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