MANGALURU: Karnataka State Commission for Protection of Child Rights president Shashidhar Kosambe visited the Mangaluru district Nutrition Rehabilitation Centre (NRC) at the district Wenlock hospital on Friday and expressed displeasure over poor facilities there.
Shashidhar Kosambe checked the quality of nutritional food provided to the malnourished children and gathered information on the facilities provided from the parents of the children.
Kosambe reprimanded the centre supervisor for failing to update the government-mandated daily wage rates. The mother currently receives Rs 370 per day for staying with her child at the centre, which covers both her meals and compensation for lost wages. "The old circular on the payment to malnourished children's mothers is still put up at the entrance. Even the register on children admitted at the centre is not maintained," he lashed out, directing Wenlock DMO Dr Shivaprakash to issue a notice to the medical officers of the centre and submit a report.
Later speaking to the reporters, Kosambe said, "After assuming charge three days ago, I have visited Mysuru and Chamarajanagar. I had high expectations that malnourished children here in Mangaluru are provided quality service. But the facilities here are not satisfactory. The air conditioner which should be running 24x7 is not in working condition. The CCTV is also not working at a time when kidnapping children is increasing across the nation. The officials have claimed that they have identified 28 severely malnourished children (SAM category) but facilities for these children are unsatisfactory. The register is not maintained and the dietitian of the centre is providing information on accounts, nutrition food and the registry which is unfortunate," he said.
He further expressed displeasure over storing the nutritious food meant for the children in the fridge which is not of good quality. He directed the district health officer, Dr H R Thimmaiah, to issue a notice to the centre's officials and staff for the mismanagement. "I have directed the health officials to submit a report within 3 days on measures to be taken to provide better facilities to the children at the centre. The Commission will register a suo-moto case if there is negligence on the part of the officials while submitting a report. The Commission will also issue summons to the concerned authorities and recommend the government to take appropriate action," he warned.