Police had to resort to caning to control the crowd of poor families waiting to get foodgrains from Union Minister Suresh Angadi’s office in Belagavi on Thursday.
Several hundred people, mostly women, gathered in front of his office as they were told by his staff that foodgrains would be distributed. However, the crowd got out of control after a few hours and the Channamma Pade, a team of women police constables, was called to the spot. The WPC s had to resort to caning to stop the women from pushing one another near the gate.
Other police personnel dispersed the men who were waiting outside the gate.
The Minister came to his office and distributed food kits to some of the people who had queued up. Some others were told to come back later. This angered the women who argued with officials as to why they were asked to come to the office and then being sent back empty handed.
“Why are we being called to the Minister’s office only to be asked to go back? This is the second time this fortnight that we are facing this problem. The Minister should not call us if he does not want to distribute us any food,’’ said Lakshmi Kamalapure, a weaver from Khasbag. “I would not have come here if our looms were working,’’ she added.
Most of the people were from Wadagoan, Khasbag and Lakshmi Nagar, where a large number of weavers reside. “We have no orders and no work. We don’t have enough to eat,’’ Jhareppa Jugul, a weaver,, said. He said he and his family members had to hire an autorickshaw to come to the MP’s office and “now we are going back with disappointment.’
Mr. Angadi said he had procured the kits from the Department of Food and Consumer Affairs in Bengaluru. He said he would organise a similar distribution in one or two days.
