North Chhattisgarh, which has 14 seats, saw a neck and neck contest between the BJP and the Congress in 2013, each party winning seven seats North Chhattisgarh, which has 14 seats, saw a neck and neck contest between the BJP and the Congress in 2013, each party winning seven seats The death of seven people in Jangankhash village of Lalgarh has become a bone of contention between the BJP and the Jhargram administration, with the former alleging they were hunger deaths and the latter claiming they had died due to illnesses. The BJP has also claimed the deaths were reported over the past fortnight, while the administration said they occurred over the last four months. The seven who died are Mangal Shabar (28), Kisan Shabar (38), Lebu Shabar (46), Sudhir Shabar (63), Savitri Shabar (51), Paltu Shabar (33) and Laltu Shabar (38). Ankur Mandal, a worker with the Association For Protection of Democratic Rights (APDR), said, “Sudhir Shabar (63) died on November 7. He had been to Lalgarh hospital after his leg became inflamed and was sent back to the village. Two others — Lebu and Mangal — died on November 11. Kisan Shabar was ailing when we had visited the village but died soon after, sometime last week.” BJP general secretary Sayantan Basu, who led a five-member team to the village last week, said the situation was grave. “We talked to the families who were there and they are suffering from chronic hunger. They have no means of earning a living apart from collecting wood from the forest. They don’t get rice from the government, and when they do, it is of very bad quality. There are no proper roads and no water available. There are no primary or secondary healthcare centres. If anyone falls ill, they have to be taken to Lalgarh hospital which is some 20 km away. Tuberculosis is prevalent here…” he said. Jhargram District Magistrate Ayesha Rani said it was incorrect to say the deaths were “hunger deaths”. “Two died due to tuberculosis. Two others were old and we don’t know how they died exactly. I have visited the village myself and they do have food. I found families cooking food. They have ration cards. In the district, we are in the process of digitising ration cards and 80 per cent of this work is complete. The rest will be covered in the next ten days. They do pick wood from the forest for a living but that is their traditional lifestyle… There have been cases when a patient has gone to the hospital in Lalgarh but refused to stay on, so they have been given medication and sent back,” she said. The village is populated by around 35 Shabar families. Rani added that as soon as the administration came to know of the deaths, they set up a kitchen in the village. The kitchen now provides cooked food (mostly khichdi) to villagers. Local activists say that over the past few days, sacks of rice have also been delivered to families. Meanwhile, Basu claimed that since news of the deaths emerged, the local administration has barred people from going to the village, which the local administration has denied. Referring to his team’s visit, he said, “We were accompanied by a large team of policemen. When we reached the village, none of the families who had lost family members was there for us to talk to. They had been taken away by TMC.” On the administration saying that some deaths were due to illness, Mandal responded that the villagers nevertheless suffered from “chronic hunger and malnutrition”. “The people here simply don’t have enough money to buy food. They make Rs 50-120 a day selling the wood that they collect. They do get rice — but a family of six will get six kilograms for a week, which is not enough. So they have to buy the rest. Along with rice, they eat boiled potatoes, leafy vegetables and meat offals. While many have job cards, they are unable to get work. Because of electronic transfer of money, you need a bank account. From what they have told us, none of the villagers have bank accounts because you need a Rs 200 deposit to open an account. They told us they can’t afford that,” he said. “Even the toilets that the government has built — we have seen ourselves that on paper these toilets are complete. But on the ground, this is not so. Then obviously diseases will spread,’’ added the APDR worker. For all the latest Kolkata News, download Indian Express App

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