Two months after the West Bengal government denied any food scarcity as a possible cause of death of seven persons from a tribal community, a survey report has identified “food scarcity in varying degrees” in about 31% of tribal households in West Bengal. The study titled ‘An Inquiry into the world of the Adivasis of West Bengal’, conducted by Professor Amartya Sen’s Pratichi Institute and Asiatic Society, will be released in Kolkata on Monday. West Bengal is home to a over five million tribals, with 6% of the India’s tribal population of 100 million. The preliminary survey report claimed that “nearly one third [31%] of the surveyed households” reportedly faced “food scarcity in varying degrees” in the past year. “The average age of the [tribal] persons who died was 58 years, which is much shorter than the life expectancy at birth” (70 years in West Bengal).

Source: The Hindu January 06, 2019 17:19 UTC