BHUBANESWAR: Attributing the death of 13 children in the last 18 days in Keonjhar district mostly to malnutrition and lack of medical treatment, the BJP on Thursday slammed the State government over poor implementation of the supplementary nutrition programme.
Expressing concern over the death of four malnourished children on September 18 while undergoing treatment at the district headquarters hospital (DHH), BJP chief whip in Assembly Mohan Charan Majhi told mediapersons that several children of Suakati village near Gandhamardan iron ore mines of Odisha Mining Corporation have fallen victim to malnutrition.
Majhi demanded a probe by a sitting judge of Orissa High Court into the deaths of the 13 children in the district. “It is is matter of shame that the highest number of undernourished children are from mineral rich Keonjhar district which has made the highest contribution of Rs 8,583 crore to the District Mineral Foundation (DMF) fund in the country. The DHH and the Government Medical College and Hospital, Keonjhar are functioning without any paediatrician,” he said.
Lambasting the State government for neglecting the healthcare in remote pockets of the district, Majhi said a child delivered through caesarean section in the government hospital last month did not survive due to improper treatment as the two child specialists of the hospital are on leave. Though the government had sanctioned 88 posts for the MCH, most of the times many doctors are on leave due to which the patients are at the mercy of paramedical staff.
After introduction of PM Poshan scheme, Majhi said the Centre has been providing huge monetary assistance to fight malnutrition among the children. The Centre sanctioned Rs 279 crore to Odisha under the scheme on September 20 and the State received Rs 576 crore under the scheme last year.
Majhi said lack of road connectivity to many villages of the district has also led to the death of several people. Majhi said he had written to the Collector last year about the poor health of children in Baradapal but the district administration has not visited the village even after a year.