By Anand Singh
Noida, April 7 (IANS) Its 3 p.m. and about 50 women are braving the sun as they wait for the food and ration to be delivered to their doorstep or in their colonies by the near the Atta market area in Sector 18 here by the state government or the police . But it seems the luck today is not in their favour, as no one has come.
The group sometimes runs towards the road after it finds any minivan or any other car arriving on the street, believing that it must be the government supply van or some donor coming to provide food or ration. But soon their hopes are shattered.
As the group runs on the streets and people coming out together, the police, on number of occasions, chases them away from the streets to ensure that the nationwide lockdown to combat the spread of novel coronavirus (Covid-19) is not broken.
Most of the women are having their children along with them with no face mask and they are also not maintaining social distancing.
While these women keep on waiting near the streets with hopes of getting the food or ration to feed their families at home, the children, however, are luckier as the passersby, oncars and scooters. give them packets of biscuits.
Speaking to IANS, Chanchala Devi, who resides behind the Atta market said, “I am coming on the street for the last three days in hope of getting the ration. But I am yet to get it.”
She said that the government is sending the ration, but “I am completely unaware about the timing when the ration comes in our area and so I have not got the ration for the last two days.”
Another women standing next to her, echoed her complaints. “Only few people are getting the ration from the government. And when we go to collect the ration from the police, we are chased away by them,” she alleged.
Rita, who worked a security guard in a nearby mall, said that she has not been paid her salary.
“Following the lockdown the work in the mall stopped. And I have not got my salary even,” she said, adding that now she was dependent on the ration and food supplied by the government.
“However, for the last three days I am unable to get the ration,” she said.
She also accused the police of not behaving with the women properly and alleged that they threaten to hit the people with their batons. Other women supported her claims.
Meanwhile, the police officials deployed in the area said that the police was distributing all the rations supplied to it by the administration or by the NGOs.
A police official wishing not to be named said: “When we get the ration items with us, we ensure to provide the ration the people. While distributing the ration to the needy, we also noted down the mobile numbers of the people receiving a kilo of wheat flour, rice and pulses.”
He also claimed that there are number of such women in the group, who even after getting ration or food, immediately comes out of their home to collect more ration.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on March 23 announced 21-day nationwide lockdown from March 24 to April 14 to cut the transmission of Covid-19. Even before the lockdown, shops, malls, factories and markets were closed since then forcing the people to depend on the ration and food provided by the government.
(Anand Singh can be contacted at [email protected])
–IANS
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