Yet another child falls prey to malnutrition in Palghar district

A four-year-old girl, suffering from severe acute malnutrition (SAM), died on Tuesday in Mokhada tehsil of Palghar district, a senior official said.

“The girl was taken home during Diwali against medical advice from the government-run health centre, where she was kept under observation for over a week,” said Abhijeet Bangar, the district collector of Palghar.

Though she was born with normal weight, her parents later went to Nashik in search of jobs, where she became malnourished. Her parents had then gone to Mokhada, where her health deteriorated further, eventually leading to her death, said the official. Further details about the family were not available till the time of going to print.

The death has taken place a day after governor C. Vidyasagar Rao issued an ordinance allowing for an amendment in the nutrition status of children below six years, pregnant women and lactating mothers from the scheduled areas of the state. According to the amendment, the children would get eggs four times a week, while the women would get cooked hot food. In a notification issued by the governor, the words ‘Take Home Ration’ used in the NFSA (Schedule II) has been replaced by the words ‘Hot Cooked Meal’, the governor’s office said.

The notification was issued using powers under Schedule V of the Constitution, and it was published on November 5. The governor has also asked the Maharashtra government to formulate schemes to provision eggs and hot cooked meals for these groups of people.

Earlier, the Bombay high court, on October 15, had reprimanded the Maharashtra government, public health department and bureaucrats for failing to control malnutrition deaths in tribal areas around Mumbai.

The court observed that the mindset of bureaucrats has not changed and that is why despite 69 years of Independence, tribals stand neglected just as they were during the British era. The court said that even after the state used allocated funds, not much improvement could be seen in the condition of the tribals.