India’s united faces of hunger

Neighbours say it may have been by design, not accident. Belonging to the Oraon tribe, the family owned less than an acre of land in Gargaon village of Ranchi district. Sukra apparently was given to drinking and, forced to take on the role of a breadwinner, Angani strived hard to provide two meals a day for her kids working as a daily wager in a brick kiln.

When reports of the deaths reached police and they landed at the Pahan home, they found the hut empty. There was no sign of any cash at all, says Itki Sub-Inspector Bhagwan Das. The FIR lodged by police describes it as a case of unnatural death. ‘‘We are investigating,’’ says Ranchi SSP M.V. Rao.

Less than 3 km from Gargaon is located the Itki Block Development Office, from where a number of poverty-alleviation schemes, including Jawahar Rozgar Yojna and Indira Awas Yojna (IAY), are supposed to be implemented for the poorest of the poor.

While Itki BDO Pradeep Tirkey defends that he couldn’t have intervened as neither Sukra nor Angani approached them, villagers say nothing works at the office without bribes. ‘‘Since Sukra and Angani had no money, they never visited the office,’’ says a villager.

Neighbour Mangari Oran says the family had some meat and halwa yesterday, which they also gave to their dog. One of the family members, he adds, vomited soon after. Villagers say Angani was fed up of the constant fights with her husband to give up alcohol and may have mixed something with the food to end her and her children’s misery.

The Pahans were reportedly deep in debt and one reason was Sukra’s drinking habit. Last week, says villager Budhwa Oraon, the panchayat had punished him to get him to stop drinking.

Ironically, today the BDO waited for no formality or order to help the family, in its last rites. It handed over Rs 3,000 to Sukra’s brother as well as promised him a house under the IAY.

Bihar weavers die of ‘hunger’, Rabri waits for report

Varghese K. George

Patna, September 2: What’s the good word to describe three unnatural deaths in two months at Dilgauri village in Bihar; the debate has thrown a shroud on the plight of 5,000 silk-weaving families here who are struggling to keep their stoves burning. The Bhagalpur district administration insists it is malnutrition and not hunger, as claimed by villagers, that killed Mohammad Rabbani (22), Kuresha Khatoon (45) and Mohammad Karim (50).

The village was once acclaimed for silk weavers and the residents were prosperous till the Bhagalpur riots in 1989. The looms fell silent after that. Many left for the cities, while some took up other jobs like tailoring. But poverty caught up and led to a growing number of people suffering from TB and malnutrition-related ailments.

‘‘The government has not taken any initiative to rehabilitate these people. No food distribution programme has reached here. These three have died of hunger. That they were ill too just hastened their deaths,’’ says Ward Commissioner Sheik Ayub. After Karim’s death on Sunday, District Magistrate K.P. Ramaiya visited the village and supervised relief measures. ‘‘It is true that the village is in the grip of poverty, but it is wrong to say that they died of hunger,’’ he said. The DM has asked the medical officer of the nearby Sultanganj hospital to submit a report.

Former weavers say there is enough demand for their products abroad but no credit is available. ‘‘After the ’89 riots, big exporters have stopped providing yarn on credit,’’ says Md Akhtar Ansari. Khadi Gram Udyog gave yarn on credit for sometime and then stopped, he said. ‘‘Government schemes to revive the industry have remained on paper only,’’ Ansari added.

It is not that relief for the hungry is not available if authorities desire so. Bhagalpur district registered gross under utilisation of the targeted PDS for rice and wheat. Only 25 per cent of the Below Poverty Level (BPL) scheme was used in 2001-02, the utilisation was 15.7 per cent in 2002-03 and just 21 per cent in the last five months.

Excise Minister and RJD spokesperson Siwanand Tiwari said CM Rabri Devi has held a meeting on the issue and demanded a report from the DM. He admitted that the villagers were living below the poverty line but denied that there were any hunger-related deaths in the region.