‘Will a disease kill us, or will hunger get to us first?’ : Scenes of severe hunger and distress in Delhi

'...On the first day of the national lockdown, on March 25, the Delhi government was prompt to announce that it will enhance the quantity of subsidised food grains given under the National Food Security Act to urban poor, from five kg a month to 7.5 kg. Under the public distribution system, the government provides food rations to 72 lakh residents, which is less than 40 percent of Delhi’s total population of 1.93 crore. Social activists, however, point out that nearly 70 percent of Delhi’s population — nearly 1.3 crore people — live in slums, jhuggi jhopdi or “JJ clusters”, village settlements, and resettlement colonies. Delhi’s ration lists, like in most other states, is based on the 2011 census but Delhi’s population has grown since then. In a crisis like this, when lakhs of migrant workers who live in Delhi have lost access to daily wage work or temporary work contracts, many more need support with accessing food and minimum nutrition...'

[Full article on Newslaundry.]