The Report - North 24 Parganas

any money for the basic food items at home such as rice, dal and oil. Thisfrustrates me so much that I don’t even have the urge to live anymore.”Before the Job Card was issued:Ahil is eligible for about 4 kgs of rice on the BPL card. This amount of rice is notsufficient for his family. He has nobody to blame however for his poverty. “Mysons and daughters have their own families to look after. In all, the total numberof members in my family, including my sons and their families are about 19. Andthey all have their own commitments.”The family members have regular problems of diarrhea and other diseases andso Ahil’s daughters-in law have not been able to work continuously on NREGA.His sons being away, none of the family members have been able to take realadvantage of the program.The government has been offering supportive programs for tribal people. Theyhave helped people like Ahil increase their access to education in terms ofbuying books for them and in other ways. The government has also been provingfood to school children and Ahil thinks these are all very helpful facilities.