CONRAD DIAS
Ranchi, May 11: At the end of a 3-day fact-finding visit in Jharkhand by Right To Food Campaign (RTFC) and Alliance for Sustainable & Holistic Agriculture (ASHA-Kisan Swaraj), team members have urged the Jharkhand Government to stop the distribution of fortified rice in the state immediately.
The fact finding report points out many serious concerns with regard to indiscriminate distribution of fortified rice to poor households in the state, and in Anganwadis and schools.
The fact-finding team stressed that in Jharkhand, even as there are high levels of anaemia, there is a significant proportion of tribal population amongst whom various blood disorders like Thalassemia and Sickle Cell Anaemia exist.
For the population with these blood disorders, fortified iron is really harmful. The FSSAI’s regulations on fortified foods ask for mandatory labelling, with a (warning) statement that asks Thalassemia patients to consume such iron-fortified food under medical supervision.
Kavita Kuruganti, farmers’ rights activist with ASHA-Kisan Swaraj who was one of the members of the fact-finding team has informed that there is no proof that Iron is useful in tackling anaemia.
“It is a very wrong approach by the government to start such a pilot project in rural parts where there are no proper resources. The consumption of fortified rice has proven to be harmful and has a lot of side effects such as Diarrhea, stomach ache etc. as seen in the rural people of Khunti and East Singhbhum,” she informed.
As per the findings, food with iron should not be given to people suffering from diseases such as Thalassemia and sickle cell anemia. In Khunti, many children as well as adults are suffering from these diseases. Despite this, the iron rich fortified rice is being supplied in the PDS.
The team visited Jharkhand from May 8 to 10 and covered five villages in Khunti and East Singhbhum districts where they interacted with PDS beneficiaries, dealers, CHC doctors, ASHA and Anganwadi workers and others to get more details about their research.
“The Pilot Scheme has been running as a trial in various districts of Jharkhand without any proper baseline or research. The implementation of the scheme has been done without following any necessary protocols,” as informed by one of the members, Balram.
