Food and Disaster Management Adviser AMM Shawkat Ali yesterday ruled out any possibility of a famine in the country, saying the prevailing situation can at best be described as an increase in "hidden hunger".

" I will not use the term famine to describe the present situation, but it is true there is hidden hunger in the country at present, as was in past, "he said.

Shawkat while briefing newsmen on the present food situation in the country however added that, "the extent of the hidden hunger has increased among the ultra poor in recent times." Citing from the 2005 survey of Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS) on household expenditures, the adviser said 75 lakh families are living at ultra poor level and their daily calorie intake is below 2.100KJ.

Specialists refer to the daily calorie intake below 2.100KJ as hidden hunger, he said.

The food adviser said that the government has taken up various programmes including expansion of existing social safety nets for the poor to combat the situation.

This includes a special scheme of Tk lOOcr that will run through April and provide work to the unemployed poor in rural areas at Tk 100 per day for works like construction of roads, digging canals etc. But the scheme would exclude those covered by other safety net facilities.

The Food Secretary Molla Waheeduzzaman added that 2.68 lakh tons of food grains will be distributed among the poor in April through existing safety net programmes.

Asked about food reserve, the food adviser said one lakh ton rice imported from India will reach the country by end of this month while the other four lakhs will arrive 60 days after opening of a letter of credit.

The government is importing another 50,000 tons of rice through a private agency. Besides this, the government plans to procure 10 lakh tons office from local market.

Meanwhile the former finance adviser Akbar Ali Khan yesterday told the BBC Bengali Service that the government has responded to the food crisis within its capacity.

Though there is no exact statistics as to how many people have been benefited from the aid, it can still be assumed that the number of beneficiaries is less than those in need, he said.

He termed the period until end of April as critical in terms of food crisis and called on the government to create more jobs for the poor.

Citing examples from India, the former finance adviser said the government can introduce employment guarantee schemes to ensure jobs for the poor.