After a long period of fighting, several government officials came to E.M. Parvati’s home and delivered 3 BPL cards to her and her two daughters, Kali and Durga (BPL no. 174240, 174241 and174242). With much excitement, Parvati and her daughter went to collect food using their BPL cards. However, upon receipt, Parvati realized that the foodgrains were inedible. The rice was rotten and not fit for human consumption. Read more about INDIA: Food provided through government assistance only fit for pigs in West Bengal …

On April 8, 2005, two staff members from Unicef’s Kolkata office met with Mr. Kirity Roy, a secretary of Masum, at Masum’s office in Howrah. Mrs. Negi and Mr. Suman visited Masum and inquired about the current status of starvation among victims from Jalangi, Murshidabad (see: HA-02-2005) and Bellilious Park. At the meeting, the Unicef representatives were provided with 412 individual family complaints filed by victims from the Jalangi in Murshidabad district who lost their homes and cultivated land. The victims currently have nothing and are not under any government poverty alleviation schemes or humanitarian assistance programmes. The two representatives were also provided with a list containing the details of the victims forcibly evicted from Bellilious Park. Masum further suggested the representatives visit the Belgachia dumping ground where many of the evictees currently reside. However they indicated that they would do so at another time. An unnamed media source did report Unicef visiting with some victims at the dumpsite, though we have not received sufficient information to confirm this. Read more about INDIA: UNICEF still avoiding responsibility in providing assistance to starving women and children in West Bengal …

Further to our Hunger Alert, HA-07-2005 issued on April 11, 2005, the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) would like to provide you with the following pictures depicting the current living conditions of the adivasis living in camps under the Bardoli Sugar Factory in Surat, Gujarat. Read more about INDIA: Sugarcane cutters starving and living in abject poverty in Surat, Gujarat …

E.M. Lachhmi, aged five, died of starvation on 11 March 2005. She had not eaten for days. At the time of her death, her family had already lost their father to tuberculosis, and two younger brothers to starvation (UP-54-2003). E.M. Shiva died at the age of three in December 2003 of starvation while younger brother Taluk died in November 2004 from illness related to severe malnutrition and sub-human living conditions within one month of his birth. Read more about INDIA: 5 year-old girl, evicted from her home by government authorities, dies of starvation in West Bengal …

UPDATE ON HUNGER ALERT UPDATE ON HUNGER ALERT UPDATE ON HUNGER ALERT UPDATE ON HUNGER ALERT UPDATE ON HUNGER ALERT ASIAN HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION – URGENT APPEALS PROGRAM 17 December 2004 (HA-01-2004: INDIA: Severe hunger in eastern Uttar Pradesh state; HU-01-2004: INDIA: Supreme Court instructs Uttar Pradesh government to look into severe malnutrition and starvationContinue Reading UPDATE (India): NHRC and Supreme Court instruct state government to act on starvation and hunger cases

UPDATE ON HUNGER ALERT UPDATE ON HUNGER ALERT UPDATE ON HUNGER ALERT UPDATE ON HUNGER ALERT UPDATE ON HUNGER ALERT ASIAN HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION – URGENT APPEALS PROGRAM Update on Hunger Alerts 30 September 2004 (HA-01-2004: INDIA: Severe hunger in eastern Uttar Pradesh state; HA-03-2004: INDIA: Children going blind due to starvation in Uttar PradeshContinue Reading UPDATE (India): Supreme Court instructs Uttar Pradesh government to look into severe malnutrition and starvation deaths