MEDINISAREH (GIMIDIH): Driven by hunger tribals living on this rocky plateau are subsisting on snails and mayasaag a type of grass. Over the past month eight tribals are reported to have died of starvation. Today the shadow of death looms large over 12 of the 18 panchayats of Gany block which has the largest population in Bihars Giridih district.

Sumudi Manjhiayin a tribal points to her waiting child who was trying to suckle a withered breast and says “We are going hungry to feed the old the infirm and the children. What milk can this child expect? The pond from where we get the saag and snails is also drying up. After that it is sure death for whoever is left behind.” Sunudi has another child to feed.

It is the fear of death that has triggered an exodus of tribals from this area. Nand Kishore Ravithas Mukliya of Mahesh Munda Panchaya says “Giridih had earlier supplied workers for the nearby collieries and mica mines. Now our people are going as far as Bombay Punjab and Calcutta.”

Sarpanch Jago Baitha has a grocery store but there are no customers with rice costing Rs 6.50 a kg there are few who can afford to buy food grains. “At least 100 people come here every day asking for water. I have to refuse them since water is available two km away. All appeals to the administration for a tube-well or a hand pump have fallen on deaf ears” says Baitha.

Giridih town is only 30 km from Medinisareh village where three persons have died in the last month The remaining five deaths have been reported from the adjoining villages of Khambar Tand Manjjia Dih and Theka Kanbar. Gripped by the bye-election fever the district administration does not have any time to come to the rescue of the affected tribals.

The official records show what there have been no starvation deaths. The block development officer R.P.Saha has senta report to his seniors recently to this effect. The report carries the thumb impressions of illiterate tribals disclaiming any starvation death.

When this reporter visited the BDOs office seven km from the village Saha showed the report he has put up to the district administration to be forwarded to the State Government In the report he has said that the tribals have died of old age and not starvation. To back his contention the report includes “statements” made by inhabitants of Madinisareh

The statements make interesting reading “London Manjhi was 80 years of age while Bursi Manjhiayin was 116 years when they died a month ago.” Another victim Sukhu Manjhis death has been written off as “due to natural causes” The other deaths have not been enquired into by the officials.

The majority of the 104671 inhabitants of Gandey block are tribals who have been forsaken even by the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha which has not shown any interest in their plight. This has angered the people and Raju Kisku a local JMM activist had to shift his home to escape the wrath of his Kinsmen. Gandey block is represented by a JMM MLA in the State Assembly.

Gopi Turi the village chowkidar charged the JMM leaders of making merry while the people starved. Turis point was taken up by several other tribals. “What has the economic blockade and agitations given us except poverty?” a tribal from adjacent Buddhnudih panchayat asked referring to the JMMs activities.

Large-scale migration from the villages is reflected on the charts in the BDO office. The figures show 258 villages as “chiragi” (habitable) and 16 as “be chiragi” (abandoned). These figures are of 1988-89 says Saha adding “No there has been very lie migration from this region.”

The prevailing situation is largely because of the corruption and apathy that afflicts official Bihar. The villagers of Medinisareh are yet to benefit from the several Central and State-sponsored tribal development schemes and welfare projects which are supposed to generate jobs. The contractors are outsiders and have little interest in the plight of the local tribals. The few jobs that are available barely fetch subsistence wages. For instance a tribal is paid Rs 24 for a day’s work on laying roads. Despite the fact that near famine conditions prevailed in the area last year the authorities failed to dig wells or install hand pumps as was suggested by the mukhiyas and sarpanches. Instead the officers stuck to directives from the top and laid concrete irrigation ditches. Contractors gained from these projects. Today the ditches are lying dry the mukhiya of Maniyadih says “With no water what use are these canals?” Residents of Giridih town are supplied with drinking water from Khandauli but the villagers are left to fend for themselves.

The Integrated Rurual Development Project (IRDP) scheme has become a farce. “How can we take loans without the ability to pay them back? What will we feed the cattle or poultry we are supposed to buy with this money?” asks Birbi Manjhi. The mukhiyas and panchayats allege that the Government has bypassed them for the Jawahar Rozgar Yojana (JRY) District Rural Development Authority (DRDA) the Social Tribal Meso Area Development Authority (MRDA) and Chhotanagpur-Santhal Plateau Region Special Welfare Scheme projects. “We know where it would have been best to implement these projects. But our panchayat samiti resolutions were given short shrift by the all-knowing babus” say the mukhiyas of Maniyadih and Mahesh Munda panchayats. The situation is not helped by the

The situation is not helped by the State Governments not paying the aged disabled and widows the social pension of Rs 100 per-month. The Janata Dal Government of Bihar and announced with much fanfare the enhancement of the existing social pension from Rs 30 to Rs 100 two years ago.

Chief Minister Laloo Frasad Yadav had also declared that the pension would be sent by money orders in order to get rid of middlemen. For the past 14 months this vital relief measure has been stopped by the Bihar Government. .

“This is the primary reason for the starvation deaths in the tribal villages of Giridih” says a State” Government official. Saha says that he had been ordered not to disburse pensions worth about RS 23.5 lakh which covered 1991-92 After the recent furor the BDO has managed to disburse just RS7_ lakh of last year’s funds to 11 panchayats

Article extracted from this publication >> June 19, 1992