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A year ago, on September 28, an 11-year-old girl in Jharkhand’s Simdega district reportedly died of starvation, months after her family’s ration card was cancelled because it was not linked to their Aadhaar number. With no school mid-day meals available during her Durga Puja holidays, Santoshi Kumari had gone with barely any food for nearly eight days before she died.
A Right to Food Campaign, Jharkhand, statement on the first anniversary of the death of Santoshi Kumari:
Exactly a year ago, 11-year-old Santoshi Kumari of Simdega died of starvation while asking her mother for rice. Her family’s ration card was cancelled for not being linked to Aadhaar. In the last one year, at least 15 people have died due to hunger. Of these, 6 were Adivasis, 4 Dalits, and 5 of backward castes. All these deaths happened due to the denial of security pensions or rations from the Public Distribution System (PDS).Of these, 5 families did not even have a ration card and 5 families faced sustained issues with Aadhaar-based biometric authentication (ABBA), leading to denial of rations. In addition, 6 people were denied their social security pensions. In 10 cases, Aadhaar-related issues played a role in the hunger deaths.
The issue of starvation and malnutrition is not restricted to only these families. A fair share of Jharkhand’s population does not get sufficient nutrition. Close to 40% of under-5 children are malnourished.
The Jharkhand government has not initiated any action to stop the persistent starvation deaths in the state. Deleted ration cards have not been reinstated, Aadhaar-based biometric authentication system has not been discontinued, left out families have not been provided ration cards and Aadhaar continues to remain mandatory for welfare schemes.
To stop to starvation deaths in Jharkhand, the Right to Food Campaign demands the following:
- Aadhaar should not be mandatory for any welfare scheme and Aadhaar-based biometric authentication should be discontinued.
- The list of families whose ration cards were cancelled and those whose names were struck of pension lists for not linking their Aadhaar, should be made public immediately and also re-start their rations and pensions with immediate effect.
- The Public Distribution System should be made universal in rural areas, and PVTG families and single women should be given Antyodaya cards.
- Private ration dealers should be removed immediately and replaced with Gram Panchayat/Women’s organizations.
- To improve the situation of nutrition in the state, pulses and edible oil should be made available at affordable rates in the Public Distribution System.
- The maternity benefit entitlement should be increased from Rs. 5000 (under the Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana) to Rs. 6000 as mandated in the National Food Security Act. It should also not be restricted only to the first child.
- All pregnant and lactating women should be given 5 eggs per week.
- All children should be given 5 eggs per week in Anganwadis and Mid Day meals.
- Anganwadis should be established in all hamlets of the state. Education system in Anganwadis to be strengthened. And children to be served hot-cooked food instead of ready-to-eat food.
- All elderly, widow, and disabled persons in the state should be given social security pension of at least Rs. 2000 per month on time.
- Jharkhand's MGNREGA wage rate should be increased to at least the state's minimum wage.
- All households to be given right to 200 days of work per year in MGNREGA.
- All MGNREGA workers to be paid within 15 days under any circumstances.
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