Nagpur: Fate is cruel, they say. Someone’s bag is full to overflowing, and someone’s bag is empty till the end. The relationship between Gond Basti in Siddheshwar Nagar of Nagpur and destiny is no different. The workman in every hut here has a business of felling trees with an axe in hand. The police catch them on flimsy grounds, and send them to jail. This leaves them jobless. The crisis of starvation is looming large on this tribal settlement, according to a report in a local Marathi daily Sakal.
The discrimination against the tribes has deprived them of their food security in many ways and the discrimination is quite similar to the caste discrimination. There are cases to show that the tribes are denied their right to food.
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According to the report, one such example has come to the fore. Ramesh Premsingh Uike, aged 60, was suffering from hunger pangs for a month. His whole body was consumed by the fire of hunger in his belly and on Monday, October 10, he left his body. The whole Vasti was shocked. They mourned ‘Bhuk Pyas Ne Ramesh ki Jaan Li’.
At a time when the Prime Minister Garib Kalyan Food Scheme is being implemented to provide free food-grains to 18 crore people, it is said that the stress on the poor has been reduced due to this free food-grains!!. The question is being asked, how does Ramesh go hungry in Siddheshwar Nagar, a Gond slum in Nagpur?
Ramesh Uike was suffering from hunger for three days and his stomach was stuck to his back. His intestines were crushed. After being thirsty, even water was not going into Ramesh’s stomach. Finally, on the night of Monday, October 10, Ramesh lost his appetite and the fire in his stomach subsided only after he was dead. Is it a starvation death in Nagpur? This question is hounding one’s mind.
Willingness to share sorrow:
The Gond Vasti shares each other’s sorrows, shares each other’s tears. But how can we share the hunger, is the question of the youth of this settlement. “Saab, Hamare Hatonko Kam Do, Hamare Haath Mehnat Karne Wale Hai. There are 200 young boys hamari Basti me hai, lakin inke hato ko kam nahi,” lamented one of the elder persons in the settlement. Today Ramesh became a victim of starvation. Tufan Uike left the settlement in a huff asking how many more hunger sacrifices should be given after this?
The role of Tribal Department:
All tribals are in this Gond Basti. They have a budget of crores to implement their development agenda. However, the Tribal Department officials never reach them. Even when they arrive, they take the photos, everything is said to be fine. The youths in the slums do not get employment, women’s self-help groups are formed. As the Tribal Department is only in the role of watcher, it is not possible to tell when the day of liberation of the tribals will arise in this era?
Ramesh’s 55-year-old wife Taemul was blind. After her death, her family was given food by the neighbours. Ramesh’s children have no work to do. How to survive is the question hounding the people of this settlement. As the working man’s hands do not get work, the hearth is not lit for three days in many houses in this Gond Basti.
Ramesh could not bear the hunger and died. The family had no money for the funeral of his body. Barma, Rama, Sachin, Dau and Lakshmi were all looking at the dead body of their father. At the same time, Tufan Uike, a social activist from Gond settlement, collected money from the people of the entire settlement. A fund of one and a half thousand rupees was collected. After this cremation was done at Manewada Ghat.
