Stray dogs kill girl out to relieve herself in Jharkhand's ODF district Koderma

After learning of the girl’s death, a concerned CM Raghubar Das ordered an inquiry into the ODF situation in the village and announced an ex gratia of Rs 1 lakh for her family.
Image for representational purpose only
Image for representational purpose only

PATNA: A 12-year-old girl was mauled to death by a pack of stray dogs in a village in Jharkhand’s Koderma district when she had gone out of her house to relieve herself in the open, police said on Monday.

Koderma being one of the five districts in Jharkhand declared open defecation free (ODF) recently, the girl’s death caused massive embarrassment for the Raghubar Das-led BJP government. After learning of the girl’s death, a concerned Das ordered an inquiry into the ODF situation in the village and announced an ex gratia of Rs 1 lakh for her family.

Madhu Kumari was attacked by a pack of stray dogs near her house at Bhagwatidih village in Koderma’s Markachcho panchayat on Sunday morning. She tried her best to escape the dogs, but they overpowered her and mauled her badly, said her family. A profusely bleeding Madhu was rushed to a hospital, but she died in the evening, said Arun Kumar, the SHO of Markachcho police station.

Ironically, Bhagwatidih is the village where the ODF campaign in Koderma district had started. Although the state government declared the district ODF on September 23 last year, many families in the district still do not have toilets in their houses.  

Madhu’s house, which is made of concrete, has no toilet, and her family members relieve themselves in the open. In fact, of the 60 families living in Bhagwatidih village, as many as 20 still do not have toilets in their houses, said sources.

“The girl’s family was not included in the baseline survey of 2011, on whose basis toilets were constructed. It may be because the family has a concrete house, which was built by the girl’s grandfather several years ago,” said Markachcho block development officer (BDO) Gyanmani Ekka.

The 2011 baseline survey included only poor families living in kutcha houses, and the target of toilet construction in the village was completed as per the list prepared after that survey, added Ekka.

Related Stories

No stories found.
The New Indian Express
www.newindianexpress.com