Kolkata: Refuting allegations of twin hunger-related deaths in Jharkhand within a period of three days recently, state food and supplies minister Saryu Rai on Thursday said a two-member state government team will be sent to the villages where the two women have died to clear the air. Stating that he has proposed foodgrain banks at block and panchayat levels to the government, Rai also said the opposition is making false claims about the deaths to gain political mileage.“I have proposed that the government set up a foodgrain bank of 10 quintal capacity at block level and one quintal capacity at panchayat level,” he said.Rai further said the bank could be managed either by his department, rural development or by social welfare department.Talking to TOI on Thursday said, “False claims were being made by opposition parties and fake news related to the incidents are circulated in the social media.”Reports have claimed that while Meena Mushar (45) of Itkhori block in Chatra district died on Monday, Savitri Devi (65) died in Giridih district on Saturday, both allegedly of starvation. There was an uproar in the social media over their deaths and the opposition demanded resignation of Rai and officials of the district administrations involved in denying ration to the two women.Refuting the claims of the opposition, Rai pointed out that the bank account Savitri Devi had Rs 2,375 as balance. Her children are also working in neighbouring states and earning members, the minister said, highlighting that Savitri’s ‘devar’ (brother-in-law) also took care of the family. Rai, who is an MLA from the Jamshedpur West constituency, said, “The deceased’s brother-in-law too did not believe that Savitri had died of hunger.”Rai asked, “How could only one member of the family die of hunger death while others are healthy.” Rai added that Savitri was ill and undergoing treatment in Rims in Ranchi. Before her death, she had returned from the hospital. Understanding the gravity of the situation, Rai said a two-member team, comprising joint secretary and additional director-level officers from the state headquarters, will be sent to both the places where deaths have been recorded. They will submit a report soon.Meanwhile, former Congress MLA Banna Gupta, trying to corner the Raghubar Das government on the deaths, said, “The issue is quite serious and taking moral responsibility Saryu Rai should quit.” Gupta also lashed out at the BJP-led governments in both the state and the Centre for “doing nothing” for development of the poor. He said government-run hospitals too were in bad shape and proper treatment was unavailable there. The former MLA also claimed that all of BJP’s pre-poll promises have fallen flat and reminded Modi’s promises of bringing back black money and creating two crore jobs.Gupta further claimed that the Raghubar-led government was more concerned on polarization of voters than solving actual day-to-day problems of the people. He said hunger death was as good as murder and the district and block-level officers concerned should be sacked for dereliction of duty. Gupta recalled that the Congress govenrnment had introduced programmes like “Bhojan ka adhikar” to prevent such hunger deaths.

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