Thread by @sharmasupriya

Imagine losing your annual income during the lockdown?

This is what has happened to some of India's most vulnerable communities.

#Thread

I travelled to Chambal region in Madhya Pradesh – you have probably heard about bandits hiding in its ravines and scrublands.

But hunger also hides there.

Particularly in the villages of the Sahariya Adivasis.

scroll.in/article/961131…

Most Sahariyas don't have much land to cultivate. They work on other people's farms. often far from home.

March-April – harvest time – is the main season of work.

This year, they were unable to travel for work.

"The police chased us away," this young woman told me.

The Sahariyas not only lost out on income. This was their only chance to stock up food.

When they harvest wheat on other people's farms, they bring back a portion of the grain.

This year, they haven't been able to.

This means the Sahariyas do not have any grain stocks FOR THE REST OF THE YEAR.

They are completely dependent on the government FOR THE REST OF THE YEAR.

On March 26, the Centre announced doubling of food rations for three months. 

More than a month later, on May 2, when I visited Sahariya villages, the double ration was yet to reach them.

A phone survey of 130 people in 6 states found half hadn't got it.
scroll.in/latest/961224/…

But – in a stroke of good luck – MP villages still had buffer stocks. 

In February, the state decided to distribute three months of food rations at one go – not because of coronavirus – but because it needed space in godowns to store newly harvested wheat purchased by the Centre

Important to note:

The Centre's godowns are overflowing with grain. It does not have the space to store it. 

It would actually save money by distributing grain, as Jean Dreze lucidly explains in this piece.

indianexpress.com/article/opinio…

As Dreze explains, the Centre must step up and give grains free of cost to state governments so they can help people in need.

What I saw on my short trip:

Communities like the Sahariyas will need food relief THROUGH THE YEAR.

The Sahariyas live on the brink of hunger even in normal times.

Laxmi showed me the meal she was serving her family – sukhi roti with onion and chillies, and occasionally, chana grass stored from last year.

Yet the Sahariyas are remarkably resilient.

"If the government does not send us more food, we won't let our children starve," said Ramrati, showing me the tendu fruit she had gathered from the forest.

Important to note:

The lockdown also coincided with the tendu patta collection season. A major source of income for Adivasis and forest dwellers across India. 

Read @hridayeshjoshi's report to understand how badly this has been hit. 

india.mongabay.com/2020/05/covid-…

When I asked the Sahariyas how the government can help them, here is what one man, Nihal Singh, said:

"Start a big work. Let us build a dam. We will get paid for the work. And we will create a source of water which we can use to bring more land into farming.”

They did not ask for cash. They asked for work.

India has the architecture to deliver work – through the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act.

PDS and NREGA can be the lifeline for the rural poor this year, said economist Reetika Khera.

“Access to the PDS provides food security, without people having to worry about market prices or market access and the NREGA provides them an opportunity to earn cash, with dignity.”

There's a lot more to unpack here.

But, for now, the one thing this reporting trip clarified for me: Even if the lockdown ends, even if Indians get back to work soon, the losses are severe and the need for government help is acute.

Even more so for vulnerable communities.

The Centre announced an emergency relief package on March 26.

Six weeks later, we are yet to hear – what more has the government planned?

Read our ground report to know why the Centre needs to do more: scroll.in/article/961131…

END