Food security activists have written a letter to all the four JMM MLAs in the West Singhbhum district reminding them about the JMM-Congress-RJD alliance government announcement of providing eggs five days a week in midday meals and dal to ration card holders.

The activists want the MLAs to raise this issue at the Assembly during the forthcoming monsoon session scheduled between July 28 and August 4.

Incidentally West Singhbhum has the highest prevalence of malnutrition in Jharkhand as per NFHS-5 (National Family Health Survey) 2019-2021. Jharkhand has 56.8 per cent pregnant women anaemic while the state had 39.6 per cent children stunted as per the survey.

However, in West Singhbhum, 60.6 per cent of children under the age of five in the district are malnourished (stunted) and one-third of the adult women have a body mass index less than normal.

“The delegation under Khadya Suraksha Jan Adhikar Manch, West Singhbhum have so far met JMM MLAs from Majhgaon (Niral Purty), Manoharpur (Joba Manjhi who is also the minister for women and child development), Chakradharpur (Sukhram Oraon) and Chaibasa (Dipak Birua). We also have met Kharsawan MLA (Dasrath Gagrai) as most of his constituency falls under West Singhbhum district,” said food security activist from Chaibasa Ramesh Jerai.

“We simply reminded the MLAs through our memorandum about their own state government promise of providing eggs five times a week through mid-day meals in government schools and six days a week in anganwadi centres across the district. We also reminded them about the government promise made last year of providing one kilogram of cereals (dal) per month to below-poverty-line ration card beneficiaries,” added Jerai.

“It is unfortunate that more than a year has lapsed since the announcement but the distribution is yet to start for the beneficiaries in a district which is ranked bottom in terms of malnutrition,” added Sandeep Pradhan, a food rights activist from Sonua block of West Singhbhum district.

“The state government is simply making promises but it does not seem to have the willpower to execute it on the ground. It is a matter of sadness that the state government formed with public support is so indifferent to the nutrition and food security of the tribal Dalit-privileged people of the region,” added Pradhan.

Significantly, renowned economist and architect of the rural employment scheme MGNREGA, Jean Dreze had been demanding the distribution of eggs in the mid-day meal and anganwadi centres since the last few years as it contains most of the other essential nutrients apart from Vitamin C. Eggs are not only extremely nutritious but also delicious and economical.