[Reader-list] RTF (Right to Food) Articles - 13

[Rakesh Iyer]

Source: The Hindu

Date: Wednesday, Oct 19, 2005

Link: http://www.hinduonnet.com/2005/10/19/stories/2005101906630500.htm

Article:

*Hunger pangs in Adivasi houses *

Special Correspondent

* Survey reveals 99.8 p.c. households could not get two square meals even
for one month *

 JAIPUR: A survey research on the situation of hunger in the
tribal-dominated areas of Rajasthan has revealed that a shocking 99 per cent
of the Adivasi households were facing chronic hunger. While the field survey
was carried out in Udaipur and Dungarpur districts, nearly 48 persons had
died of hunger and disease in 40 villages in Baran district during mid-July
to mid-September this year.

The New Delhi-based Centre for Environment and Food Security (CEFS) carried
out the survey on "Hunger in Adivasi areas of Rajasthan and Jharkhand'' and
its report was formally released in the national capital by noted social
scientist, Ashis Nandy, on October 14.

The Director of CEFS, Parshuram Rai, said on Tuesday that while about 99 per
cent of the Adivasi households had lived with one or another level of
endemic hunger and food insecurity throughout 2004, at least 25.2 per cent
of tribal households had faced semi-starvation during the previous week of
survey and 24.1 per cent throughout the previous month.

The researchers surveyed 500 households in the two districts to find that
only two respondents had eaten two square meals the previous day. Five per
cent of the surveyed Adivasis could eat only jungle food to survive and 76.6
per cent tribal households said they had not eaten any pulse or animal
product.

Mr. Rai said the survey data had suggested that 28.3 per cent of the sample
Adivasi households had survived for the whole or significant part of the
previous week by eating just one distress meal-a-day or one poor or partial
meal-a-day. In other words, 28.3 per cent of sample households lived in
semi-starvation condition.

The survey findings conform to another recent investigation that had
attributed the death of tribals in Baran district to the chronic energy
deficiency leading to weakness of the body constitution and decline in
immunity levels of the local population. The probe was carried out by a team
led by the State Advisor to the Commissioners appointed by the Supreme Court
in right to food matter.

Mr. Rai pointed out that a staggering 99.8 per cent of Adivasi households
had said that they could not get two square meals even for one month of the
previous year. Therefore, it was clear that over 99 per cent of the surveyed
households were facing one or another level of hunger and food insecurity
throughout last year. Moreover, out of the 500 sample Adivasi households
surveyed in the State, not a single one had secured two square meals for the
whole previous year.

The survey report also revealed that 10 per cent of the sample tribal
households had to survive only on distress food for 3 to 11 months of the
previous year and 22.6 per cent only on one poor or partial meal for 4 to 12
months. In other words, 32.6 per cent of the sample Adivasi households had
lived in semi-starvation condition throughout the previous year.

An overwhelming 90.6 per cent of the tribal households said their food
security had weakened during last 25 years. The field survey, carried out
during March to June in 2004, covered 10 villages each in Udaipur and
Dungarpur districts. From every sample village, 25 Adivasi households were
purposely selected for the household survey.