NEW DELHI: Adivsasi Congress chief Vikrant Bhuria on Monday demanded a special committee to probe the deaths of tribal children allegedly due to malnutrition in Madhya Pradesh and female students due to snakebite in Maharashtra, and sought strict action against those found responsible.
Bhuria also called for a “safety audit” of tribal hostels.
Addressing a press conference here, the Congress leader claimed that 22 tribal children from the Baiga community died due to malnutrition and diseases in Madhya Pradesh’s Balaghat.
“Here, the nutritional meal delivered to homes has been stopped for the last six months. Here, the nearest primary health centre is 20 km away… the land titles granted under the Forest Rights Act have been cancelled. Officials have stated that vaccination coverage here is less than 80 per cent,” he said.
Today, the life of tribal children in the country is worth only Rs 20,000, with the government giving that amount to the family of the deceased.
“I had asked in the Madhya Pradesh Legislative Assembly how much budget was allocated for preventing malnutrition in the state’s tribal blocks and projects from 2020 to 2025, and how much of it was spent.
“The response was extremely concerning. The government said that malnourished children are given a nutritional meal worth only Rs 12 per day,” he said.
Bhuria claimed the Women and Child Development Department has made no separate budgetary provision for the scheme in tribal blocks.
Slamming the Maharashtra government over the deaths of students at a tribal hostel in Gadchiroli, he claimed that more than 70 girls were made to sleep in a single room at the facility.
“The shocking thing is that this tribal hostel didn’t even have beds arranged, and more than 70 girls slept on the floor in a single room. In this incident, six girls were admitted to the hospital, of whom three died,” he said.
The hunger strike by students in Nashik is continuing over these conditions, with the protesters demanding improvements in tribal hostels, he said.
“A special committee should be formed to investigate the cases of tribal children’s deaths in Balaghat, and action should be taken against the officials found responsible,” Bhuria said.
Source: Press Trust of India
