A left parties’ fact finding team visited Kandhamal district in Odisha on 3 November to investigate the deaths of tribals due to eating mango kernels. The BJP government in Odisha has not distributed PDS rations for months in this region leading to scarcity of food in this backward tribal area. August-November are lean months when food is scarce, the tribals were forced to eat mango-kernels which led to hospitalisation of many and at least two deaths. The CPIML held a protest on 13 November against this man-made food crisis. The state government made PDS rations available only after two had died.
Two women died in Mandipanka village of Daringbadi block in Kandhamal district, while six others are undergoing treatment. Those women were first sent on the night of 2 November to a Hospital in Cuttack after their liver got infected, while four others were undergoing treatment at Berhampur. The next day, leaders of three leftist parties Yudhishthir Mohapatra, CPIML state secretary, Narayan Reddy from CPI and Forward Bloc secretary Jyoti Ranjan Mohapatra, went to Mandipanka village to meet the affected families and inquired about the details of the incident.
Such a sad incident occurred due to extreme negligence of the government agencies due to unnecessary delay in providing BPL foodgrains. Every year from August to November, the tribal people face food shortage for four months. During this time, they do not have food items like rice, maize or work around the house. Therefore, they are forced to eat junk food like mango kernels. Earlier, they used to get rice for every month from the panchayat office. This time, after two deaths and six people getting infected, the rice was distributed after four months on November 2.
The deceased women had applied for assistance through Subhadra Yojana, which they could not get. There are many problems in this remote area related to government schemes like updating KYC in an area where mobile networks are very weak. The fact-finding team also realised the absence of proper health infrastructure which could have prevented these deaths. There is a village hospital in Brahmani which proved of no help to the affected villagers.
CPIML has demanded provision of BPL rice on a monthly basis in the villages itself. So far, they have to spend a whole day and money to go to the Panchayat office 9 km away to collect rice. The amount of foodgrains should also be increased, particularly In the four months of August, September, October and November, to at least 20 kg per person. Party also demanded appropriate compensation for the dead and injured.
CPI leader and former MLA N. Narayan, CPIML State Secretary Yudhishthir Mohapatra, Radhakant Sethi, All India Forward Bloc State General Secretary Jyoti Ranjan Mohapatra, Adivasi Sangharsh Morcha (ASM) National Leader Tripati Gomango and Disha Azad held a press conference in Bhubaneshwar to convey the report of fact finding team. These leaders condemned the remarks made by Odisha State Food Supplies and Consumer Welfare Minister Krushna Chandra Patra blaming tribals for consuming mango kernels as a matter of habit and tradition while sufficient food was available. Deputy Chief Minister and Women and Child Development minister of Odisha Pravati Parida also blamed the dietary habits of tribals for the tragic deaths. This incident has revived the memories of starvation deaths in tribal dominated Rayagada district in the early 2000s.
