No ration card: Another hunger death in Jharkhand

A 43-year-old rickshaw puller died in Dhanbad on Saturday night, allegedly of starvation — the second such death in the state in less than a month.

On September 28, 11-year-old Santoshi Kumari had died crying for food, after four days of hunger, in Simdega district. Her death is still under investigation.

In the case of Dhanbad man Baidyanath Ravidas of Bhalgarha Niche Bagan, he had not got to eat for the past seven days, his widow Parvati Devi said on Sunday. The family did not have a ration card for the past four years and failed to get one despite several attempts.

The district administration claimed the man suffered from asthma and had died of his ailment. Parvati said Ravidas was bedridden for over a week and starvation had aggravated his condition.

Dhanbad deputy commissioner A Dodde rubbished allegations of starvation and said that Ravidas’ son and wife were both earning, so death due to starvation was not possible.

“The information we have shows that the family has four earning members and none of them earns less than ₹3,000 a month,” Dodde told HT.

State food and public distribution director Sunil Kumar Sinha has ordered a probe.

Although Parvati works as a domestic help and her husband pulled rickshaw for a living, they were not listed in Below Poverty Line (BPL) category and the family did not get subsidised ration under government welfare schemes.

Meanwhile, Jharia circle officer KD Singh handed over a cheque of ₹20,000 to Parvati Devi for cremation and other rituals. Singh assured that the family would be provided with a ration card soon.

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