UP Musahar Community forced to hunt rats for survival despite government schemes

Despite various Uttar Pradesh government schemes to ensure that people do not go to bed hungry, people from the Musahar community, who belong to the Scheduled Caste, are forced to eat rats as part of their meals. The sad development was reported from Bhanwarkol village in the Ghazipur district of Uttar Pradesh.

The people of the Musahar community hunt rats in the village fields to kill their hunger. Around 25-30 families from the community live in the village.

Community members were caught on camera hunting rats in the burrow and using them for food. The people of the community have a history of catching and eating rats and hence they are called Musahar. The people of the community in this village have no roads or power supply. The community also did not have access to government rations when there was widespread distribution of free cereals during Covid. Only 3-4 people in the village benefited from the free food grain scheme.

Most of the people in the village live below the poverty line, so they are forced to hunt rats and eat them. The people of the community claim that they do not get any benefit from the government schemes. Since there are no roads in the village, it is difficult to move around on the streets, he claims.

In October last year, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath celebrated Diwali with members of the Musahar and Vantangiya communities. The state government has also launched several programs for both communities, but their benefits are yet to reach the lower ranks of the Musahar community. When asked, District Magistrate Aryaka Akhoury refused to speak on the matter and said that the person questioned should be handed over to officials of the relevant department.

A few days ago, UP Social Welfare Minister Aseem Arun visited the region and said that he had discussed the issue with the concerned officials to identify the people and work for their welfare.