Mysuru tribal food kits have begun reaching Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Group families in H.D. Kote and Saragur taluks after an eight-month interruption, but beneficiaries say the first resumed supplies are incomplete, with ghee and eggs missing from several kits.
The distribution restarted after the tender process for the monthly nutrition-kit programme was completed. The programme, administered through the Integrated Tribal Development Project department, covers 13,096 beneficiary families in Mysuru district.
The scheme provides food items to families from communities including Jenu Kuruba, Kadu Kuruba, Soliga, Erava, Koraga, Malekudiya, Kudiya, Siddi, Gowdalu, Hasalaru and Gond groups. The kits are intended to support families living in forest settlements and other remote areas where households largely depend on agricultural labour, collection of forest produce and daily-wage work.
Distribution had stopped after the previous tender period ended and the new procurement process was delayed. Families in settlements, or hadis, including Chikkerayuru in the Hampapura hobli, reportedly struggled during the interruption. Tribal leaders said the loss of the kits, combined with limited local wage work, worsened household finances and contributed to families travelling to Kodagu, Kerala and other districts and states in search of employment.
They also linked the disruption to difficulties faced by children in continuing their education when families migrated for work. The resumed distribution has brought some relief, but beneficiaries said the supplies are not reaching them in full. Puttabasava, a tribal leader from Vaddaragudi hadi in H.D. Kote taluk, said some settlements had not received rice, while ghee and eggs were also missing in certain locations.
The current kits do not include 500 grams of ghee or eggs. According to the report, the contractor has said these items will be supplied later. The disruption in ghee procurement has reportedly been attributed to a rise in its price. Officials said the present distribution is the first after the new tender was awarded to a Bengaluru-based company and that initial coordination problems caused gaps in delivery.
Mahesh, the H.D. Kote taluk Scheduled Tribes Welfare Officer, said the contractor had begun distribution for the first time and that the lapses would be corrected in the coming days. The official said the tender was intended to ensure complete kits were delivered to beneficiaries.
Several beneficiaries have asked the authorities to distribute all items together instead of supplying the kits in stages. They said families had already waited for eight months and that receiving a kit without ghee and eggs did not fully address the interruption in the nutrition programme.
Tribal leaders have also demanded district-level tenders instead of a single statewide procurement process. They said decentralised contracting could reduce delays and help maintain continuity in supplies. They have sought a clear government decision on the kits that were not distributed during the eight-month gap.
MLA Anil Chikkamadu said officials had been instructed to ensure that food items reach every tribal family. The immediate administrative task is to complete the pending distribution of ghee, eggs and other missing items while clarifying how the undelivered kits from the interruption period will be addressed.
