Gruel Given To Starving Indians In Sinapali

Press, Volume CV, Issue 31061, 17 May 1966, Page 20

Gruel Given To Starving Indians In Sinapali

(N.Z.P.A. Reuter —Copyright? SINAPALI (Central India), May 13.

Some 1000 emaciated children, wome n and old men gathered in a shady grove in Sinapali today for a meal of gruel ma de from rice, American wheat and milk powder.

They squat in lines, patiently waiting for the gruel to be ladled into their crude bowls. Indian social workers supervise the boiling of the gruel in big earthen pitchers placed over fires in troughs of hard, dry earth. It seems cool here, but a pocket thermometer reads 105 Fahrenheit. Around the grove the sun blazes down on bare ricefields, where a few yellow stalks wave languidly in the hot, dry wind. Sinapali village, and its neighbours were in the area of India probaby worst hit by the lack of rain during last year’s monsoon. Nothing could grow in the area, which normally produces a surplus of food crops. As medical workers move

along the lines handing out 3 single Vitamin B tablet to each person, a mother limply draws her skimpy sari over her empty breast, while heri tiny baby—its huge skull-like head supported by her shoulder—claws blindly with spindly fingers at her. Other Children Other children, with matchlike-limbs and pot bellies from advanced malnutrition, squat gazing mutely and unmoving at a visitor. Some women or men summon enough energy to throw themselves prostrate in the dust at the visitor’s feet—often they say nothing, some times they ask for a bit of cloth or a bowl for their food rations. Nearly 50 feeding centres are now being run by social service organisations in this afflicted area of Orissa’s Kalaoften they say nothing, some--270,000 people have been affected by the drought. Diesel Scarce One senior area official reckons these centres are taking care of virtually all completely destitute sufferers. Trucks are moving rice in from other parts of Orissa, but this movement is being hampered by a shortage of diesel fuel. It is hoped to get 7000 tons of rice into the area before the end of May. The rains, making any land movement impossible, are due in June. Social workers are planning to ask the Prime Minister, Mrs Indira Gandhi, to allocate helicopters to move food when the rains come. She is due on a brief visit on Saturday and will use a helicopter herself to get to Sinapali, which is several miles from the nearest permanent road—although it can be reached over rough tracks which cross nearby river beds. In nearby Bhela village, a social worker, S. C. Maharana, has started a home for abandoned children and is caring for 19 waifs found by roadsides and in fields. “Their parents had left them,” Maharana said.

“We are feeding them and the Indian Red Cross will give funds to educate them.”

At one of the feeding centres was Raghunandan, a 45-year-old man whose appearance bore out his statement that he was too weak to work on famine relief projects. Raghunandan said many women had gone to the towns and cities where they could earn money apparently meaning prostitution. Selling Children

Officials scoffed at this suggestion, but they thought it likely that reports of destitute couples selling their children were true. There are earlier records of children being sold into bondage in this area. The controversy over starvation deaths, which has raged in the Indian Parliament and press continue in this area.

Social workers say they have reports of deaths in remote villages and say that from the state of those able to reach feeding centres it seems likely there are others who are too weak to move and have remained behind to die. As there is no official re-

One official said that in some cases for example the fourth child in a family of seven died and the remainder of the family were in reasonable shape. This made it difficult to accept starvation as principal cause, he added. But he admits malnutrition weakened the human body, leading to death from other ills. Advanced Malnutrition

In a missionary hospital in Khariar, an Indian, Dr. V. K. Henry, showed a boy suffering from advanced malnutrition.

The boy’s father was thin but otherwise appeared quite well and sat by the bed stroking the child’s head. Dr. Henry’s American-born wife is a nursing supervisor at the hospital. Mrs Henry said that in the past the hospital had often taken in orphaned or deserted children and after building them up had given them to childless couples. But now nobody coud afford to take on the responsibility of feeding another mouth, she said.

Private and foreign relief money is playing a big part in helping people in Sinapali, Khariar and other places, to survive.

Apart from massive American wheat supplies coming in through the Government, Indian social welfare organisations are getting help direct from Roman Catholic relief services and church world services

A huge earthern water storage tank in Bhela village is being constructed with money sent by the “War on Want” Campaign, London. Other gifts from overseas are paying for the excavation of new wells.