Accusing the BJP government in the state of triggering severe food insecurity and breakdown of public distribution system, The Odisha Congress unit, on Tuesday, alleged that the death of two women in the Kandhamal district after consumption of mango kernel gruel was due to lack of food grains.
Submitting a memorandum to the Odisha governor in this regard, the Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee pointed out that people in these areas are being forced to eat food of this nature in the face of acute food scarcity.
The state government currently provides only 5 kg of rice a month per head, which lasts for just 15-20 days. The food grains for October were released on 2 November delayed by a month, which led the people to consume mango kernels.
If the food supplies had been released on time, the loss of two lives could easily have been avoided, the Congress said, targeting the government. The Congress memorandum stated that delay in food distribution violates the National Food Security Act and is a criminal offense.
Stating that Odisha Food Supplies and Consumer Welfare Minister K C Patra’s claim of families having adequate rice was false and misleading, the memorandum said, “It’s a cover-up to hide the government’s failure.”
The villagers are not consuming mango kernels by choice but are forced to do so because of inadequate food stock, the OPCC said.
It may be recalled here that two tribal women died and seven others fell sick after allegedly consuming mango kernel gruel in a far-flung Mandipanka village under the Daringbadi block of Odisha’s Kandhamal district on 30 October.
In response to the Opposition blaming the BJP government in Odisha for the death of two women, the Health Department said they died due to food poisoning. The gruel became toxic leading to fungal growth among those who consumed it as it was kept without proper preservation.
The department later claimed that fulminant hepatitis led to multi-organ failure and led to the death of two women, who had consumed mango kernel gruel in the Kandhamal district.