Poor struggle for food, other essentials
Daily wage earners living in slums strive to make ends meet
Basanti Barik, a 61-yearold widow working as maid, has kept herself confined to her shanty in Akhandalamani slum at Palasuni here in the city since March 21 when Odisha government first imposed a one-day lockdown. The lockdown was further extended by seven days and she was not able to come out ever since. Her confinement has further extended till April 14 as Prime Minister Narendra Modi on March 24 announced another 21-day nationwide lockdown.
Basanti’s daughter Geeta and her 10-year-son Kalia, living in a 10/10-feet room in the same Palasuni slum have also not come out ever since. Whatever foodstuff they had stored has almost been exhausted.
On Friday, Basanti called up her employer Nalini Sahu asking for some food and biscuits. “I don’t have any money with me. Nor my daughter Geeta has any money to buy rice and grocery items. Please organise some food for me,” she told Nalini.
Basanti and Geeta are not the only people in Bhubaneswar who are now desperately crying for food. Over three lakh people out of total 9.39 lakh people of Bhubaneswar live in slums and earn their livelihood by working as daily wage earners. Most of the women work as maids while male members eke out their living as construction workers and labourers.
Basanti regrets that though nearly a week has passed since Odisha government imposed lockdown, no people’s representative nor any government official has reached to them with any relief materials.
A few benevolent individuals and some voluntary organisations, with due permission from authorities, have started reaching out to people in a certain slums with packaged and cooked foods. However, their interventions have failed to instill much hope and assurance in the slum-dwellers as they realise such helps are for temporary period and inadequate.
Apprehending worse days ahead, many slum dwellers, mostly belonging to Bhubaneswar’s nearby districts, are seen walking to their native places covering long distances. Many people reportedly up 120 km to reach their native places.
“The situation in our slum is quite serious. Many families are managing with one meal a day. Children are not getting adequate food. Things will turn worse if we are not supplied with food stuff within a day or two,” says Basanti.
Meanwhile, Odisha Chief Minister on Friday announced `2,200 crore package to provide assistance to the people of the state amid countrywide lockdown for Covid-19 outbreak. The government will provide `1,000 each to 94 lakh Food Security Act beneficiary families. An amount of `940 crore will be spent in this regard, the CM said.
Ration of three months will be given to them in advance, he said. Similarly, 48 lakh beneficiaries of social welfare schemes in the state will receive allowance of four months in advance and an amount of `932 crore will be spent for the purpose, he said.
Announcing assistance for construction workers, he said `1,500 each will be provided to 22 lakh such workers, for which `330 crore will be spent.