Maharashtra’s minister for tribal development Madhukar Pichad admitted on Tuesday that large-scale malnutrition deaths occurred in the Thane district of Maharashtra due to non-availability of proper medical infrastructure and healthcare facilities.
Mr Pichad said this while visiting the predominantly tribal Jawhar and Mokhada talukas of the Thane district on Tuesday, where several child deaths have been reported since the last three months. It may be recalled that way back in 1992, there were child deaths in Jawhar following which the state government had initiated several measures which had worked initially, though things seem to have gone back to square one since the last two years, resulting in numerous child deaths.
Mr Pichad, accompanied by minister of state Rajendra Gavit, paid a visit to tribal residential schools and the primary health service centre as well as the rural hospital at Jawhar. In order to reduce the increasing number of malnutrition deaths, he said that stress would be laid on providing healthcare to infants and pregnant women. He said that there was a dire need to educate womenfolk about the healthcare programmes. There is a lack of coordination between the tribal development department, the women and child welfare department as well as the health department, which needs to be attended to on priority, he said.
“Our priority will be to give utmost importance to healthcare facilities in the rural areas to reduce malnutrition deaths,” he said. It was officially stated that he would tour the Sahapur taluka on Tuesday, since he was informed that deaths are on the increase in that area.