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LATEST NEWS UPDATES | Release foodgrains from godowns: Bhojan Yatra activists

Release foodgrains from godowns: Bhojan Yatra activists

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published Published on Oct 18, 2012   modified Modified on Oct 18, 2012
-The Hindu

On Tuesday, Bhojan Yatra, a campaign demanding a comprehensive food security bill, reached here after travelling through Bihar, Chhattisgarh and West Bengal.

In a rally, organised from Bistupur to Ram Mandir maidan, Right to Food (RTF) activists demanded that the proposed National Food Security Bill (NFSB) give universal access to food instead of capping it at 67 per cent of the population.

They demanded that 8.2 crore metric tonnes of food grains lying in government storage be distributed through the Public Distribution System (PDS). In Jharkhand, in public meetings in 60 villages in 17 districts, the campaign demanded better implementation of nutrition-related schemes.

In 2009, the Jharkhand government reduced the price of rice to Re.1/kg and entitled families with Antyodaya cards to get rice for free. But the distribution of Below Poverty Line (BPL) cards continues to be based on a survey by the Bihar government 15 years ago, and many poor families are still excluded from PDS. The government did a fresh survey last year, but the date for issuing fresh ration cards based on this survey had been shifted thrice this year.

In districts adjoining Ranchi, including East Singhbhum and Lohardaga, which are among 35 districts most affected by Left Wing Extremism and have been identified by the Central government for “focused development,” a majority of villagers still don’t have ration cards.

“Even one family doesn’t have a ration card. They did a survey in our village last year, but none of us got a ration card,” said Kanhu Hembrom, gram pradhan of Musabani, a hamlet of 70 households adjoining the CRPF Battalion 193 camp in Ghatshila in East Singhbhum. In Kekrang village in Lohardaga district, parts of which lie in the hills and are accessible only on foot, only 20 out of 110 households have a ration card. “We don’t grow enough rice to last us through the year. We are tired of asking the panchayat officials to give us ration cards. Everyone got an MGNREGA card but the officials keep the work site open only for 10-15 days,” said Bifan Nagesiya (25) in Kekrang village.

Nagesiya says he migrated to work in a brick kiln in Tripura for one year, but returned when he earned only Rs. 6,000 after working for eight months. In a 2011 survey done in the districts of Dumka and undivided Ranchi, only 25 per cent of households surveyed said they were getting their full PDS entitlement. More than a quarter of the households reported that one family member missed meals in the previous three months, and 12 per cent said that they hadn’t consumed dal even once the previous week.

“Jharkhand has the highest levels of malnourishment after Madhya Pradesh. The Central government allots rations, categorising 46 per cent of the State population as BPL. The Jharkhand government includes another 20 per cent from its own funds, but 13 to 14 per cent of the State’s poor population is still left out. The proposed law will leave even more people out,” said Gurjit Singh, convener, RTF campaign in Jharkhand.

The Bill proposes that each household will get 5 kg of grain per person per month

Digitised ration cards with bar codes will be issued in all districts by December 

The Hindu, 17 October, 2012, http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/release-foodgrains-from-godowns-bhojan-yatra-activists/article4004190.ece


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