Lack of PDS rice forced women to eat mango kernel gruel in Odisha, say activists

Ramita Patmajhi, one of the victims, had applied for inclusion of her name in ration card in 2018, but she remained outside the public distribution system, reveals a fact-finding team 

Activists have voiced concerns over the shortage of subsidised rice in Odisha’s Kandhamal district where two women died recently after consuming gruel made of mango kernel.

A four-member fact-finding team commissioned by the Odisha Khadya Adhikar Abhiyan (Odisha State Right to Food and Work Campaign) with support from the Civil Society Forum on Human Rights (CSFHR) had visited Mandipanka village, where the two deaths took place, and interacted with the residents.

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The team says shortage of foodgrains (rice) forced the two women of Mandipanka village in Daringbadi block to eat gruel made of fungus-infected mango kernel. “On October 30, 2024, they consumed the mango kernel that could have led to food poisoning and death,” they said at a press conference here on Saturday.

Delayed supply

According to the fact-finding report, “The subsidised rice (five kg per person per month) provided to marginal families under the public distribution system (PDS) is insufficient as they eat three times a day. The rice lasts only for 15-17 days in a month. When rice starts depleting, they mix rice with mango kernel or mandia (millet) or sometimes eat only mango kernel gruel.”

“The families last received rice under the PDS in September. They were supposed to get rice in October but they did not. The PDS rice was supplied only on November 3,” the team members pointed out.

“In southern and western Odisha, local tribal (Kondh) and Dalit communities eat mango kernel and jackfruit seeds during lean periods of the year (August, September and October). Late onset of monsoon and extreme weather events had led to the delay in sowing of paddy and millets in the district. This has further aggravated the food security situation in the village,” the report revealed.

No MGNREGA work

As per the findings, there is limited or no work in the village. “Most men in the village go to other States such as Kerala to work in factories, quarries, hotels, construction sites and rubber plantations. Those who stay back have job cards and get work under the MGNREGA [Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act] for a week or so.  According to the villagers, MGNREGA works were unavailable for the last three months,” the report said.

Besides, it was also found that the names of a few women and children were not included in the government’s PDS ration cards due to various reasons. Ramita Patmajhi, one of the women who died after eating mango kernel, married Anil Patmajhi in 2018 but her name had not been included in the ration card, the team revealed.

“Anil had gone to the block office thrice and requested the officials to include her name but in vain. The 26-year-old woman had not been included in her husband’s family ration card despite being married for over five years. This omission points to gross administrative negligence,” the activists alleged.

Similarly, members of the Ganatantrik Adhikar Surakshya Sangathan (GASS), another platform of activists, alleged that the government had failed to ensure timely availability of protein-rich foods for the tribal population. They also alleged that supply of foodgrains under the PDS to the villagers was inconsistent.

Published - November 16, 2024 09:52 pm IST