The hunger which could be referred to as ‘hunger virus’ was made manifest when the various committees on distribution of food palliatives given by the Rivers State Government to cushion the effect of lockdown order occasioned by Covid-19 visited wards in local government areas to distribute foodstuffs to the people.
At Rivers State Government library located at Ihedioma/Ojoto Street Mile 2 Diobu, Port Harcourt, venue of PHALGA ward 17 distribution of palliatives, over two thousand persons were at the place.
Our correspondent who monitored the exercise reports that the committee had a difficult task to distribute the palliatives as people scrambled at the gate of the library to enter the premises.
Some residents were seen scaling through the fence in order to get their own share. Some residents who spoke to our reporter at the venue of distribution of the palliatives said the mammoth crowd witnessed at the place lends credence to the fact that the closure of markets and other business in order to curtail the spread of the pandemic has brought untold hardship to the people. The respondents disclosed that no amount of palliatives provided by the state Government would be enough to the people but they just had to manage.
At PHALGA ward 18, large crowds were seen following the committee that moved from street to street in the ward to distribute the palliatives.
People who did not benefit from the distribution were seen pleading with the committee to give to them no matter how little.
Our correspondent reports that at ward 17 two packs of marcoroni were given to beneficiaries while at ward 18 beneficiaries got either one cartoon of indomie or marcoroni.
