-The Indian Express In Jharkhand and Bihar, the food crisis triggered by the lockdown has put a spotlight on an old problem — leakages and corruption in the the Public Distribution System. Patna, Ranchi: Earlier this week, Jharkhand’s grievance helpline 181 received four calls from Palamu on a single day. All the callers had a similar complaint: though the state had promised 70 kg rice in April, their ration dealer in Medininagar...
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Lockdown relief reveals Purulia secret: PDS cards as loan collateral -Ravik Bhattacharya & Joyprakash Das
-The Indian Express Officials said 24 such families had approached them in Surjamata alone, a village of 150 families. Most people here work as daily wagers, owning no land and barely any possessions. Purulia (West Bengal): Bordering Jharkhand, the district of Purulia in West Bengal has zero cases of coronavirus. However, that is not the only COVID-19 story here. With the state government announcing free ration under PDS for six months to...
More »Foodgrain stocks bountiful, yet the poor are going hungry -Furquan Ameen
-The Telegraph Provide emergency Ration cards, universalise PDS in rural areas and urban slums, says Dreze India’s foodgrain stocks have never been so bountiful, yet the government is struggling to ensure that no one remains hungry in the middle of the coronavirus pandemic that has sparked an unprecedented emergency involving jobless migrant workers, thousands of whom are stranded away from their homes. Stocks with Food Corporation of India was estimated to be around...
More »COVID-19: Delhi's PDS System is Failing People When Needed Most -Gaurav Vivek Bhatnagar
-TheWire.in A survey has revealed that many ration shops are closed, out of stock or not delivering rations despite online data revealing supply of stocks to them. New Delhi: A fortnight after the Delhi government announced that it would be providing free rations to those in need in the capital city and the Centre also announced release of additional foodgrain and pulses, a ground survey by a foods right campaign has revealed...
More »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...
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