KOLKATA: Seven tribals of the Lodha-Savar Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Group (PVTG) in Purnapani Village in Lalgarh block died over the last fortnight due to various ailments, despite being only 24 km from the district headquarters of Jhargram.
On Monday, villagers wrote to the Lalgarh Block Development Officer (BDO) about the deaths and sought financial and medical aid to prevent further casualties.
The deceased have been identified as Mangal (28), Kisan (38), Lebu (46), Sudhir (63), Savitri (51), Paltu (33) and Laltu (38). Sources revealed that nearly all the deceased died at home and just a few received medicines from a local Public Health Centre.
Jhargram District Magistrate Ayesha Rani, who visited the village on Tuesday, said, “The panchayat member should have informed the block administration about the deaths. We will inquire why the block administration was not informed. Also, relief materials have been sent to the village along with BDO and Block Medical Officer of Health (BMOH).”
Jhargram district Chief Medical Officer of Health Ashwini Kumar Majhi said they were probing whether the deaths were caused due to liquor consumption.