Hunger, starvation 'stare' Jharkhand poor in absence of effective food distribution

By A Representative
The civil rights organization, Right to Food Campaign, Jharkhand, in a letter to chief minister Hemant Soren has warned the state would see the danger of hunger and starvation in the absence of “any effective provision for the delivery of food rations to households without ration card.”
A letter signed by well-known development economist Jean Drèze, and social activists Asharfi Nand Prasad, Balram, Siraj Dutta, Sunil Minz and Varsha Poddar said, “The Jharkhand government claims to be “universalizing” the public distribution system, but nothing of the sort is happening.”
Pointing towards what it called “weak provision” for delivering 10 kg of foodgrain per month for two months to the National Food Security Act (NFSA)-eligible households that do not have a ration card, the letter said, “The application process is complicated and most people are not aware of it.”
Citing numerous field reports, the letter said, the current provision “covers just a small fraction of households without ration card”, noting, “About 8 lakh households in Jharkhand have applied for a ration card and most of them are likely to be poor households.”
“In this crisis situation, there is no time to verify each applicant’s eligibility under NFSA (and the fact that it has not been done earlier is the government’s responsibility)”, the letter said, adding, “Therefore, we urge you to provide emergency ration cards to all these 8 lakh households without delay, for an initial period of at least one year.”

Hemant Soren

“Even if rice has to be bought from the Food Corporation of India (FCI) at Rs 22 per kg for this purpose, it would cost just Rs 44 crore per month to provide 25 kg of free foodgrain per household (on average) to these 8 lakh households”, the letter pointed out.
Seeking extension of the provision of 10 kg foodgrain per month for two months “to other households that do not have a ration card, based on self-declaration of eligibility under Jharkhand’s NFSA eligibility criteria”, the letter asked the chief minister to “prevail on the Central government to provide a special foodgrain allocation to Jharkhand free of cost.”
This, it said, is essential, so that the public distribution system (PDS) can be universalised in rural areas and urban slums, as per NFSA entitlements, for a period of at least one year.

Comments

Why Venezuela govt granting amnesty to political prisoners isn't a sign of weakness

By Guillermo Barreto On 20 May 2017, during a violent protest planned by sectors of the Venezuelan opposition, 21-year-old Orlando Figuera was attacked by a mob that accused him of being a Chavista. After being stabbed, he was doused with gasoline and set on fire in front of everyone present. Young Orlando was admitted to a hospital with multiple wounds and burns covering 80 percent of his body and died 15 days later, on 4 June.

Walk for peace: Buddhist monks and America’s search for healing

By Vidya Bhushan Rawat* The #BuddhistMonks in the United States have completed their #WalkForPeace after covering nearly 3,700 kilometers in an arduous journey. They reached Washington, DC yesterday. The journey began at the Huong Đạo Vipassana Bhavana Center in Fort Worth, Texas, on October 26, 2025, and concluded in Washington, DC after a 108-day walk. The monks, mainly from Vietnam and Thailand, undertook this journey for peace and mindfulness. Their number ranged between 19 and 24. Led by Venerable Bhikkhu Pannakara (also known as Sư Tuệ Nhân), a Vietnamese-born monk based in the United States, this “Walk for Peace” reflected deeply on the crisis within American society and the search for inner strength among its people.

Pace bowlers who transcended pace bowling prowess to heights unscaled

By Harsh Thakor* This is my selection and ranking of the most complete and versatile fast bowlers of all time. They are not rated on the basis of statistics or sheer speed, but on all-round pace-bowling skill. I have given preference to technical mastery over raw talent, and versatility over raw pace.

When a lake becomes real estate: The mismanagement of Hyderabad’s waterbodies

By Dr Mansee Bal Bhargava* Misunderstood, misinterpreted and misguided governance and management of urban lakes in India —illustrated here through Hyderabad —demands urgent attention from Urban Local Bodies (ULBs), the political establishment, the judiciary, the builder–developer lobby, and most importantly, the citizens of Hyderabad. Fundamental misconceptions about urban lakes have shaped policies and practices that systematically misuse, abuse and ultimately erase them—often in the name of urban development.

Bangladesh goes to polls as press freedom concerns surface

By Nava Thakuria* As Bangladesh heads for its 13th Parliamentary election and a referendum on the July National Charter simultaneously on Thursday (12 February 2026), interim government chief Professor Muhammad Yunus has urged all participating candidates to rise above personal and party interests and prioritize the greater interests of the Muslim-majority nation, regardless of the poll outcomes.

When grief becomes grace: Kerala's quiet revolution in organ donation

By Vidya Bhushan Rawat* Kerala is an important model for understanding India's diversity precisely because the religious and cultural plurality it has witnessed over centuries brought together traditions and good practices from across the world. Kerala had India's first communist government, was the first state where a duly elected government was dismissed, and remains the first state to achieve near-total literacy. It is also a land where Christianity and Islam took root before they spread to Europe and other parts of the world. Kerala has deep historic rationalist and secular traditions.

Swami Vivekananda's views on caste and sexuality were 'painfully' regressive

By Bhaskar Sur* Swami Vivekananda now belongs more to the modern Hindu mythology than reality. It makes a daunting job to discover the real human being who knew unemployment, humiliation of losing a teaching job for 'incompetence', longed in vain for the bliss of a happy conjugal life only to suffer the consequent frustration.

'Paradigm shift needed': Analyst warns draft electricity policy ignores ecological costs

By A Representative The Ministry of Power’s Draft National Electricity Policy (NEP), 2026 has drawn sharp criticism from power and climate policy analyst Shankar Sharma, who has submitted detailed feedback highlighting what he calls “serious omissions” in the government’s approach to energy transition.

Beyond the conflict: Experts outline roadmap for humane street dog solutions

By A Representative In a direct response to the rising polarization surrounding India’s street dog population, a high-level coalition of parliamentarians, legal experts, and civil society leaders gathered in the capital to propose a unified national framework for humane animal management. The emergency deliberations were sparked by a recent Suo Moto judgment that has significantly deepened the divide between animal welfare advocates and those calling for the removal of community dogs, a tension that has recently escalated into reported violence against both animals and their caretakers in states like Telangana.

Search This Blog