The death of two tribal women last week in Kandhamal district following the consumption of mango kernel gruel has brought back horrific memories from 2001 while providing the Opposition Biju Janata Dal (BJD) and the Congress with fresh ammunition to target the Mohan Charan Majhi-led BJP government.

The Opposition’s attacks came after two 28-year-old women, Rumita Pattamajhi Majhi and Runu Majhi, who is differently-abled, died while six other women of Mandipanka village of Daringbadi block were hospitalised in Berhampur and Cuttack after consuming gruel made of mango kernel.

Even as the Majhi government on Tuesday ordered the Revenue Divisional Commissioner (RDC) to probe the matter and the local administration denied reports that shortage of food led to the women consuming the gruel, the Opposition claimed that people were being deprived of their rights under the National Food Security Act (NFSA).

The relatives of the deceased too have alleged that they did not receive free ration under the public distribution system (PDS) for a long time and hence the women were forced to consume the gruel due to lack of rice.

On the other hand, locals claimed that they last received their quota of 15 kg of rice for the three months from July to September under the NFSA (under which 5 kg free food grain is given monthly to each member of poor families) in July and that its next instalment, which was scheduled to be released in October for the period from October to December was released only in November.

BJD chief and former CM Naveen Patnaik accused the BJP government of allegedly halting rice supplies to tribal families and said the new government has “ruined” his government’s efforts to ensure food security. “Every life matters. There must not be any compromise on food security,” he said while addressing a meeting of the BJD’s student wing on Thursday.

The Congress too flayed the BJP government, claiming that the quota of rice provided in July “barely lasted a month” as against its usual period of three months. “Moreover, the quota (of rice) for October to December was released on November 2 after a month’s delay,” Congress leader and former Union minister Srikant Jena said.

Following the backlash, the CM directed the state food supplies and consumer welfare department to provide 15 kg of rice in advance, and ensure food safety of beneficiaries after the Odisha Human Rights Commission (OHRC) on Thursday directed the government to take measures to prevent further occurrence of mango kernel deaths.

Officials claim the death of the two women could be due to food poisoning and that the food and water samples sent to the lab had traces of faecal contamination and hydrogen sulphide. “The lab reports have confirmed our suspicions. Food must be consumed immediately as keeping it for extended periods could lead to fungal growth. Those who consumed the gruel on the first day had no issues. When it was consumed two days later, it had turned toxic,” Odisha’s Director of Public Health, Nilakantha Mishra said on Thursday.

Though consumption of mango kernel is a traditional food practice among the tribals of the region, especially during the lean September-December period, the issue resonates in the political discourse of the state due to a similar incident which occurred two decades ago.

In August 2001, 24 tribals died in the tribal-dominated district of Kashipur area of Rayagada district after consuming gruel made out of mango kernel. This starvation-related incident had caused massive outrage, capturing national and international attention. The state was then ruled by the Patnaik-led BJD government, which had come to power for its first term in March 2000. A National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) had probed the matter and submitted a report a year later which ascertained the cause of deaths to be food poisoning resulting from the consumption of toxic mango kernels contaminated by fungus.