The policies of the former Government at the Centre not only made lives difficult for the middle class, it virtually snatched food from the plates of the poor. If proofs are required, one could visit the closed centres of the popular Mukhyamantri Dal Bhat Yojna started by former CM Arjun Munda in Jharkhand.
Although the quality of food served under the scheme was of modest standards but this popular scheme was providing stomach full of meal to thousands of poor people at the rate of Rs 5 per plate – perhaps the cheapest in the State. With the closure of the centres across the city, the poor are forced to spend their nights with empty stomach.
In Ranchi all the seven Dal Bhat centres are closed for the past two months due to non allotment of rice from the Centre. The scenario is same at most of the centers of Jharkhand.
A rickshaw puller Arshad Khan at Ranchi Railway station who often used to have his lunch and dinner in the nearby centre said, “Every afternoon I along with two of my companions used to come to the nearby centre for having meals. The food available was cheap and best for us but now when these centers are closed we pass our days and nights on liquid diets and sometimes have a slice of bread when earn extra bucks.” Many other lives like Arshad have been affected to a great extend with the lock outside the Dal Bhat centers.
“My earning is very limited. I could barely earn around Rs 250 a day. To run a family of six members in this amount is quite difficult. By spending Rs 60 my whole family was having stomach full meal for two times but now our life is a nightmare. I fail to understand why government launches such schemes when it is not capable of carrying it in the long run,” said Arup a roadside vendor near town hall at Kuchery.
Former Chief Minister Arjun Munda on August 15, 2011, had introduced the scheme named Mukhyamantri Dal Bhat Yojna for the poor. Under this scheme poor persons were able to get rice, pulses and vegetable at subsidized rate of Rs 5 per plate at railway station, hospitals, bus stops and public places.
However, since the month of April the supply of subsidized rice has been stopped by the Centre resultantly the Daaal Bhat Centres are closed, said sources in the Food and Civic Supply Department. Interestingly, the department officials were found clueless on the matter. Food and Civic Supply Department Principal Secretary Pradeep Kumar said, “I am neither aware about the matter nor did I ever try to know where is the loophole.”