Hunger Crisis Forces Even Middle-Class Indians to Line Up for Rations
Chanchal Devi’s three children haven’t tasted milk for almost a year. The staple was among items the 35-year-old and her husband could no longer afford after they both first lost work when India’s capital New Delhi went into lockdown in March last year…. They’re now borrowing money to buy food and must watch their school-aged kids eat less, often going to bed on empty stomachs….
Families like Chanchal’s… are among legions of Indians who saw their economic toehold ripped away in lockdowns over the last 12 months. More than 15 million Indians lost their jobs in May alone at the height of a devastating wave that overwhelmed hospitals and crematoriums, according to the Centre for Monitoring the Indian Economy….
All of that is leading to an increase in hunger, particularly in urban areas, in a nation that already accounts for nearly a third of the world’s malnourished people. While few statistics are available, migrants and workers at food distribution centers in major Indian cities say they can’t remember seeing lines this long of people yearning for something to eat….
