CSOs demand dal, edible oil, iodized salt under Odisha govt’s Food Security Scheme

By Anjan Pradhan*
As part of COVID elevation measure, a meagre amount of 1 kg of chana dal has been provided to BPL/PDS beneficiaries every month and the state government is planning to stop its allocation from November. As it has been a key arsenal in rural Odisha’s pandemic fight and will be crucial to address malnutrition in the long run, civil society groups have urged the Odisha government to continue the supply of one kg of dal, free of cost for at least 12 months and provide an additional quantity of 2 kgs dal per family at Rs. 10/-kg and add 1 kg of cooking oil @10/- per litre and 1 kg of Iodized Salt at free of cost to keep hunger and malnutrition at bay.
Following COVID-19 lockdown, people witnessed a spill in prices compared to 2019 and high prices of pulses may affect nutrition security, claim NGO Atmashakti Trust and its allies Odisha Shramajeebee Mancha and Mahila Shramajeebee Mancha, according to a study they had recently conducted to know the consumption practices of Dal and its impact on nutritional food security in rural Odisha during COVID-19.
The online survey titled “Consumption of Dal and its impact on nutritional food security in Odisha” which was undertaken with more than 10769 families in the state in 16 districts covering 405 villages of 371 Gram Panchayats in 83 blocks reveal the emerging need of Dal and Edible oil in Public Distribution System to ensure nutritional food security among people in rural Odisha.
According to the study report, 99.9% of surveyed families said that the Dal provided under the Public Distribution System are benefiting them. It emphasizes that people need Dal from the government as a nutrition supplement looking at their consumption trend. The survey report also revealed that 46.6% of the families have to spend between Rs. 81 to Rs. 100 for 1 KG of Dal and around 2% of families have also said that they have to pay more than Rs.110 for 1KG dal. The enhanced price of Dal will most likely distort spending and consumption decisions and this may affect nutrition security, especially for low-income families.
The state government is additionally providing 1 kg of milled Chana dal per family per month during COVID19. But the study results reveal that 63% of families reported this dal lasting between 1 to 5 days while 27% of families reportedly consumed this Dal within 6 to 10 days while 76.45% of families reported that they were consuming the Dal for one meal only. Consumption of Dal also depends upon its availability and affordability. In the study, 92% of families told that they would increase their Dal consumption if they could afford it. The availability of Dal in their locality has also influenced the consumption pattern among families. While 92% of families reported availability of Dal in their locality i.e. either in their villages or in local markets, 8% of families have to travel long to buy Dal.
These organizations have launched a state-level campaign titled “Kuposhana Jadi Kariba Dura, Dali, Tela, Luna Nischita Kara” with a focus on ensuring nutritional food security under State Food Security Scheme, to urge the state government to include Dal, Edible Oil and Iodized salt in the State’s Food Security Scheme.
“For the past eight years, together with our allies, we have been trying to address the issues of food and nutritional security in Odisha and nearly one million families have been included in the PDS system. However, the inclusion of pulses and cooking oil for the PDS beneficiaries has not been met so far. As the level of malnutrition of the state is 50% in its tribal areas, the inclusion of dal is of paramount importance”, says Ms Ruchi Kashyap, Executive Trustee of Atmashakti Trust.
Odisha is one of Empowered Action Group (EAG) states declared by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. Though the state has improved on the proportion of malnourished children under -5 in the state shrunk to 34.4% (NFHS-4) from 40.7% (NFHS-3), the tribal communities still suffer the most. Almost 50% of the under-5 children from tribal communities in Odisha are underweight, and 46% are stunted. Another defiance for Odisha is its outreach to remote and particularly tribal populations. The state also witnesses an intra-state disparity in malnutrition. Malnutrition is as high as 51.8% in Malkangiri district according to the report of NFHS-4, while other districts are way behind the state average in their performance.
Appreciating the effort of the organizations, Mr Raj Kishore Mishra, Convener, Right to Food Campaign, Odisha and State Advisor to the Commission of Supreme Court on Right to Food said “we strongly support the demand of Atmashakti and their allies for diversification of Targeted Public Distribution System (TPDS). The government musts support to the poor for ensuring food and nutrition security”.
While we appreciate the Odisha government to introduce a special nutrition budget which is unique in our country and a step forward to fight malnutrition in the state, we urge that the government must include our demand and add Dal, Edible oil and iodized salt in its State Food Security Scheme as the government’s measure in this regard will greatly contribute to the nutritional security of the most marginalised section of society.
—
*Convener, Odisha Shramajeebee Mancha

Comments

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.

The golden crop: How turmeric is transforming women's lives in tribal India

By Vikas Meshram* When the lush green fields of turmeric sway in the tribal belt of southern Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, and Gujarat, it is not merely a spice crop — it is the golden glow of self-reliance. In villages where even basic spices once had to be bought from the market, the very soil today is yielding a prosperity that has transformed the lives of thousands of families. At the heart of this transformation is the initiative of Vaagdhara, which has linked turmeric with livelihoods, nutrition, and village self-governance — gram swaraj.

Buddhist shrines were 'massively destroyed' by Brahmanical rulers: Historian DN Jha

Nalanda mahavihara By Rajiv Shah Prominent historian DN Jha, an expert in India's ancient and medieval past, in his new book , "Against the Grain: Notes on Identity, Intolerance and History", in a sharp critique of "Hindutva ideologues", who look at the ancient period of Indian history as "a golden age marked by social harmony, devoid of any religious violence", has said, "Demolition and desecration of rival religious establishments, and the appropriation of their idols, was not uncommon in India before the advent of Islam".

Authoritarian destruction of the public sphere in Ecuador: Trumpism in action?

By Pilar Troya Fernández The situation in Ecuador under Daniel Noboa's government is one of authoritarianism advancing on several fronts simultaneously to consolidate neoliberalism and total submission to the US international agenda. These are not isolated measures, but rather a coordinated strategy that combines job insecurity, the dismantling of the welfare state, unrestricted access to mining, the continuation of oil exploitation without environmental considerations, the centralization of power through the financial suffocation of local governments, and the systematic criminalization of all forms of opposition and popular organization.

Echoes of Vietnam and Chile: The devastating cost of the I-A Axis in Iran

By Ram Puniyani The recent joint military actions by Israel and the United States against Iran have been devastating. Like all wars, this conflict is brutal to its core, leaving a trail of human suffering in its wake. The stated pretext for this aggression—the brutality of the Ayatollah Khamenei regime and its nuclear ambitions—clashes sharply with the reality of the diplomatic landscape. Iran had expressed a willingness to remain at the negotiating table, signaling a readiness to concede points emerging from dialogue.

False claim? What Venezuela is witnessing is not surrender but a tactical retreat

By Manolo De Los Santos The early morning hours of January 3, 2026, marked an inflection point in Venezuela and Latin America’s centuries-long struggle for self-determination and independence. Operation Absolute Resolve, ordered by the Trump administration, constituted the most brutal and direct military assault on a sovereign state in the region in recent memory. In a shocking operation that left hundreds dead, President Nicolás Maduro and First Lady Cilia Flores were illegally kidnapped from Venezuelan soil and transported to the United States, where they now face fabricated charges in a New York federal detention facility. In the two months since this act of war, a torrent of speculation has emerged from so-called experts and pundits across the political spectrum. This has followed three main lines: One . The operation’s success indicated treason at the highest levels of the Bolivarian Revolution. Two . Acting President Delcy Rodríguez and the remaining leadership have abandone...

The selective memory of a violent city: Uttam Nagar and the invisible victims of Delhi

By Sunil Kumar* Hundreds of murders take place in Delhi every year, yet only a few incidents become topics of nationwide discussion. The question is: why does this happen? Today, the incident in Uttam Nagar has become the centre of national debate. A 26-year-old man, Tarun Kumar, was killed following a dispute that reportedly began after a balloon hit a small child. In several colonies of Delhi, slogans such as “Jai Shri Ram” and “Vande Mataram” are being raised while demanding the death penalty for Tarun’s killers. As a result, nearly 50,000 residents of Hastsal JJ Colony are now living in what resembles a state of confinement.

The price of silence: Why Modi won’t follow Shastri, appeal for sacrifice

By Arundhati Dhuru, Sandeep Pandey* In 1965, as India grappled with war and a crippling food crisis, Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri faced a United States that used wheat shipments under the PL-480 agreement as a lever to dictate Indian foreign policy. Shastri’s response remains legendary: he appealed to the nation to skip one meal a day. Millions of middle-class households complied, choosing temporary hunger over the sacrifice of national dignity. Today, India faces a modern equivalent in the energy sector, yet the leadership’s response stands in stark contrast to that era of self-reliance.

Gujarat government urged to introduce heat-stress safety rules for construction workers

By A Representative A representation submitted to Gujarat Labour, Skill Development and Employment Minister Kunvarji Bavaliya has urged the state government to introduce legally enforceable safety standards to protect construction workers from extreme heat and heatwaves, and to launch a financial assistance scheme for labourers affected by climate-related health risks.

Search This Blog