Twitter
Advertisement

No relief from hunger for city suburb

In a first situational analysis report, an NGO highlights the food insecurity and hunger in the city's M/East ward

Latest News
article-main
Strewn garbage and open drains are a common sight
FacebookTwitterWhatsappLinkedin

Around eight per cent of families living in Mumbai's Shivaji Nagar have at least one member who has gone hungry as many as 10 times in a month. Most of these families also have ration cards but there is still widespread food insecurity, according to 'Life on the Margin: Charting Realities', a situational analysis report released by Apnalaya, an NGO that has been working in the area for around four decades now.

Of the families who face hunger despite having a ration card, 79 per cent spend most of their money on just water.

A total of 6,631 families with 32,881 individuals were interviewed for the study conducted in April 2015. The study highlighted some facts about the ward that the BMC had already mentioned in one of its own surveys, such as that Shivaji Nagar, with a population of over 6 lakh, has no maternity home or secondary hospital.

There are other findings, too, like the fact that a worker who came here 40 years ago is likely to be making only Rs 700 more than someone who would settle there now. "This highlights how most of the workers are engaged in basic, unskilled work and come here despite the poor conditions," said Arun Kumar, CEO, Apnalaya. The report also took the BMC to task for alloting only Rs 164 crore for slum development out of its Rs 31,178 crore budget; of the allotted amount, Rs 45crore remained unspent.

Health minister Dr Deepak Sawant who unveiled the report said that while he couldn't say more since the code of conduct for elections was in place, he cautioned, "When conducting surveys it is important to have a large sample size rather than one where only 20-30 people are interviewed."

Find your daily dose of news & explainers in your WhatsApp. Stay updated, Stay informed-  Follow DNA on WhatsApp.
Advertisement

Live tv

Advertisement
Advertisement