THRISSUR: At a time when Kerala’s health indices stand equal to that of Scandinavian countries, a major concern the state always had was over the repeated infant deaths in Attappadi tribal hamlets.
While data accessed through Right to Information (RTI) revealed that as many as 115 infant deaths were reported in Attapadi in the past 10 years, the number of deaths reported annually has come down by more than half.
Peralikkulam Krishnadas, a social activist based in Palakkad had filed an RTI application with the scheduled caste and scheduled tribe welfare department.
The data showed that 16 infant deaths were reported in the region in 2014 but the number came down to five in 2023 and seven in 2024.
“We all dream of an Attappadi with no infant death. To make it possible, the representation of tribal people in the government should be increased. Whichever political front that comes to power next should work towards that,” said Krishadas, who wondered when Kerala would get a chief minister from the tribal community.
Located to the south-west of the Nilgiri region in the Western Ghats, Attappadi is spread over approximately 750 sq km. The tribal region comprises Padavayal, Agali, Kallamala, Kottathara, Pudur and Sholayur and falls under three panchayats — Pudur, Agali and Sholayur.
The tribespeople once made up around 65% of the total population of Attappadi, but that has declined to 35% because of several reasons including loss of land to development and construction activities.
According to the data available, the tribal population of Attappadi consists of 26,521 people from the Irula community, 1,274 from the Muduga community and 2,251 from the Kurumba community.
In 2016, on a visit to Kerala, Prime Minister Narendra Modi referred to Attappadi as a ‘Somalia’ in the state, shedding light on the need for effective intervention to improve the pathetic condition of those living in the tribal region. His statement led to a major controversy in the state. However, the data showed that the interventions made by the Union, state, and local self governments through various projects have fetched positive results.
Though the number of infant deaths has reduced, concerns regarding the living conditions and health issues, like sickle cell anaemia, in the Attappadi region persist.
“It is a fact that the interventions made by the LDF government did help the tribal communities to ensure the safety of pregnant women in Attappadi. We had arranged birthing houses for pregnant women, where they can stay for a month before the expected date of delivery and one month after childbirth,” said Mathew K, a former vice-president of Attappadi block panchayat.
“Though nobody from the community accepted it in the initial days, as time went by and more awareness programmes were conducted, they started realising its importance,” he said.
Mathew added that nutritious food was also supplied to pregnant women through anganwadis.