State government rolls out supplies for poor; not enough, say people

With the 21day lockdown a significant part of the citys population has lost its regular source of income and has little or no access to food While the government has announced food distribution among them many are unaware of it Ration card holders who are getting limited supplies are unable to afford oil spices and vegetablesTwentyyearold Anita and her 35yearold husband Dhananjay Bhagat who live in a hutment in Andheri are blind since birth Neither of them have jobs so they rely on the earnings of their respective mothers who worked as domestic helps and jointly earned around Rs 8000 per month However the family is struggling to make ends meet as both the women have lost their jobsFortunately Anita and her husband are both ration card holders which helps them to get a limited supply of food grains Despite this they are struggling to buy cooking oil sugar spices and vegetables since none of that is included in the relief being given to lakhs of ration card holders in the citySpeaking to midday Anita said We dont have sugar in the house and this month we didnt even get pulses My husband and I cant look for jobs so we cant contribute to the familys income either The government is giving us rice but if we cant buy oil and spices what do we cook Even vegetables are so expensiveTailor Mohammed Jamil Akhtar Sheikh who lives in Malvani has been using his savings to feed his family of eight because he wasnt aware that the government is distributing foodNo pulses in rationJai Parmeshwar Mati 45 who lives in Siddharth Nagar in Andheri has a similar story A civic painter Mati has had no work since February He has seven mouths to feed at home His familys last hope is his wife who still works at two houses and earns a salary of around Rs 3000The amount we get from the ration shop doesnt last the entire month and we almost never get pulses If the government doesnt help us out how will I feed my family he saidThe Public Distribution System supplies each ration holder with three kilos of wheat two kilos of rice and one kilo of pulses every monthKailash Pagare controller of rationing from the Food and Civic Supplies Department said In another seven to eight days we will procure additional relief and send it to the ration shops Over and above the regular supply each ration card holder will get an additional five kilos of rice for the next three months starting AprilHe said supplying other essentials was not part of the governments decisionBilal Khan an activist from Ghar Bachao Ghar Banao Andolan said Things like salt sugar oil and spices are also essential items and since those living the slum areas have no income now they cannot afford themNo clue at allSome ration card holders have no clue of the governments relief measures Tailor Mohammed Jamil Akhtar Sheikh who lives in a slum in Malvani has been burning through his savings to feed his family of eightCivic painter Jai Parmeshwar Mati who is also a ration card holder lives with his family in AndheriI have a small shop but now I have no work and no one else in my family earns We have been using our savings to buy food supplies directly from the market If the government is offering food then they should tell people about it None of my neighbours know about it and we are all really worried about how to continue to feed our families he said adding that he barely has any money leftThe labour department is supplying construction labourers precooked meal packets and has asked builders to supply them with other essentials as well They have set up two kitchens in Bhiwandi and Koparkhairne However there are hurdles in procurement and distributionSC Srirangam CEO of Maharashtra Buildings and Other Construction Workers Welfare Board said that while the builders have submitted a list of 60000 construction labourers the actual number is lower since many have returned homeWe have asked the site coordinators to share a fresh list But many site coordinators are not picking up meal packets to be distributed among the labourers and many want to cook their own food he saidWhile city collectorate officials have been procuring oil and spices through donations and have been supplying to around 11000 migrant labourers the suburban collectorate is in a tieup with the BMC to supply food to around 9000 peopleIf the BMC and NGO tells us their requirement we will provide them with food grains The food will be cooked in the community kitchens and then distributed among people who do not have ration cards said Sonali Muley deputy collector at the suburban collectorateCatch up on all the latest Mumbai news crime news current affairs and also a complete guide on Mumbai from food to things to do and events across the city here Also download the new midday Android and iOS apps to get latest updates