Woman dies, kin say she had nothing to eat

Another starvation-related death was reported in the last four months under Yogi Adityanath government in Uttar Pradesh. A mother of three daughters died of hunger in Moradabad district on Republic Day allegedly because she didn’t have a ration card.

Amir Jahan, 45, had an Aadhaar card and had applied for a ration card under the BPL (below poverty line) category but it was rejected in May 2017. Her TB-stricken husband, a rickshaw puller, too had abandoned her two months ago after he shifted to Pune. Since then the family of four was undergoing hard times in managing two-time meals, said sources.

The family was living on the mercy of neighbours. “There was no food in the house for the last 15 days. We were just managing to survive on whatever food was given by our neighbours. On Thursday, when a neighbour offered her few chapattis, Amma gave all of them to us since we all had not eaten anything for the four days,” her eldest daughter 15-year-old Rehana told visiting media.

Following intervention of State Panchayati Raj Minister Bhupendra Chaudhary, the district administration has given Rs 25,000 to her daughters.