There are mixed voices about police’s community kitchen across the state under directive of the DGP M V Rao.
Sources said Chief Minister Hemant Soren took cue from the police of other states like Delhi, Maharashtra, UP who were shown to be distributing food packets among the people in the streets.
However, sources said the masses in the street were of those people who were away from their work places and were equally far away – some 200 to 400 kilometers – from their native homes. And these masses which were forming a human island in the streets and in transit truly needed to be fed.
Sources said Jharkhand police jumped to make a replica of it here only to find itself locked in a battle against hunger which will continue to gnaw despite such feeding as local hands are reaching the food more than the real stranded people here.
Sources said Jharkhand police are feeding mostly locals and a handful of such people are in a state of transit. A police official requesting anonymity said the purpose behind police’s community kitchen was to feed the hungry in transit but here people have home and roof.
SP Palamu Ajay Linda said, “Locals outnumber the people in transit in partaking police food. I know there are around two dozen people from West Bengal’s Malda district who are stranded here in Palamu. I have asked my cops to give them ration to help feed themselves.” Sources said cops gave them dry ration.
Linda said, “Similarly police of Nawa Bazar came across a bunch of daily wagers who were enroute to Bihar on foot. Our police took care of them.”
He said, “I have asked OCs to direct the chowkidars to keep a tab on labourers who have arrived haggardly in their houses falling under chowkidars’ beat to rush food to such travel sore people.”
One of Linda’s deputies Sandip Kumar Gupta said, “Under order of our SP we are trying to segregate the needy people in dire straits to have our food.”
Civil society activists have suggested police to first locate and identify pockets where people are stranded or people who have nothing to survive.
These activists urge police to offload itself from reaching food rather it should go for providing dry ration so that the family may get engaged in preparing food for themselves where there will be less of leftover of food.
Sources said large scale feeding sees no less leftover food too which either is thrown across the roads or are left to rot in open as cattle too do not like it anymore.
One has not as yet heard or seen any action or role of the Red Cross Society either in providing food to the needy or to cater to the medical needs of the people anywhere in the state said civil society activists.
Sources said government’s other departments like forest, mines, irrigation, education, public works department etc are just spectator to this great tragedy only.
Chief secretary designate Sukhdev Singh speaking to the Pioneer said “It is a very challenging time for all of us and together we will face the challenges.”