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Starvation in Orissa

Akhilesh Kumar Sah, Faizabad

It is a strange sight to see tonnes of foodgrains rotting in official godowns in Orissa and the people dying of hunger. In fact, politics and poor economic policies have played havoc with Orissa's economy. Identifying those below the poverty line is a to ugh task.

In fact, the Government should balance its procurement and distribution policies by opening the fair price/ration shops to everyone. Corruption is bound to take place in every government scheme and, consequently, the BPL scheme will also fail due to corr uption. The Government should bear the costs of distribution of foodgrains at very low prices to the people. However, only decency and honesty will make people refrain from foodgrains that are meant for those below the poverty line.

It is also important for there to be some way to check whether those buying the foodgrains are indeed below the poverty line and, thus, entitled to the foodgrains. The Government must create suitable policies so that these grains are not wasted in distri bution or transportation, because those foodgrains could save lives.