“No one will go hungry in Kerala during the lockdown. Panchayats shall run community kitchens. The state government would provide ration to these kitchens. This will benefit those who feel hesitant to seek food from anyone while hungry,” informed Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan after Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on March 26, imposed a total lockdown in the country for three weeks to prevent the spread of coronavirus.
“The government will provide a number. Anyone can call upon it for food. We will also provide food to those who can’t cook at home. These includes the senior citizens, those who are unwell or the Public Works Department (PWD) workers. It shall be the responsibility of the panchayats to keep them supplied with food,” he had added.
During this nationwide lockdown, the biggest challenge before the governments is to provide food to citizens. The central and the state governments are making various efforts. Amid these efforts, the government of Kerala has also developed a model which prevents starvation in the state. Under this model, cooked food is provided to people by creating community kitchens in every panchayat.
There are 941 gram panchayats, 152 block panchayats and 14 jilla panchayats in Kerala. It is a network that has access to every person in the state. Panchayats in Kerala are also more empowered than other states and have access to 40 per cent of the state budget. At the same time, in Kerala, most of the panchayats are already running community kitchens called ‘ Kudumbasree ‘, which are run by women belonging to various self-help groups. It remains to be seen the extent to which these community kitchens will benefit the common people.
Talking about the state government’s decision to run community kitchens during the ongoing lockdown, Sridhar Radhakrishnan, a resident of Karakulam panchayat in Trivandrum, said: “The government’s decision is praiseworthy. This will benefit the needy families. For me, the panchayat is the foremost government. There is a ward member for 3,000-4,000 people. We know our ward member. So, it becomes easier to provide cooked food directly to the one who is hungry. This will also benefit the labourers who have come from other states and have been trapped here.” Sridhar is a social worker and is trying to help people at his level during this lockdown.
The Kerala government is also working to provide food to the people in numerous other ways, apart from the community kitchens. This also includes running a scheme like mid-day meal. Because of the corona scare, schools in the state have been closed, but mid-day meals are being prepared in schools and the food is provided to any child who is registered with the school. Now, through the community kitchen, food would reach the common people too.
Rajesh Krishnan, a resident of the Thrissullery panchayat in Wayanad district of Kerala, informed: “We already have community kitchens running under the Kudumbasree scheme. It is told that every panchayat is being given a number. Whoever needs food can call upon it. The ward member has also made a list, including the name of the elderly and poor people. They will be delivered food without calling.”
It is evident that the community kitchen model of the Kerala government ensures access to the last person. It can be said that this food availability at the panchayat level will provide relief to many hungry people. Like Kerala, other state governments are also working in this direction.
In Uttar Pradesh also, there are talks about running community kitchens. Additional chief home secretary of Uttar Pradesh, Avnish Kumar, had informed that the system of community kitchens would start soon. For this, safe food packs will be prepared at places like hotels, charitable institutions, monasteries, temples and transported to labourers and hawkers.
There is a talk of running a community kitchen in Uttar Pradesh, but unlike Kerala, the blueprint does not seem clear. In Kerala, there were already community kitchens running at the panchayat level, but there is no such outfit existing in Uttar Pradesh, it remains to be seen how the Uttar Pradesh government runs this service.
Centre releases Rs 1.70 lakh crore package
Meanwhile, the central government has also announced a package of Rs 1.70 lakh crore in view of the coronavirus crisis. Under this, 80 crore poor will be given five kilos of rice or wheat free for the next three months. At the same time, one kilo dal will be given free to every family. The Ujjwala scheme cylinders will also be distributed free.
Releasing the package, Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said at the press conference: “No poor should face food problem. Therefore, five kilos of wheat or rice will be given to about 80 crore beneficiaries for the next three months through this package. This benefit will be besides the benefits under PDS. They will not have to pay any money.”
The finance minister assured at the press conference that the package is ready for the immediate need of migrant labourers and urban-rural poor so no one will starve.
