All these malnutrition deaths occurred in one district in Madhya Pradesh
This sounds like yet another tale of malnutrition deaths concocted by activists. At least the district administration of Satna, Madhya Pradesh, thinks so.
One year-old Budhlal died in the last week of July. The same week, two-year-old Sheelta, four-year-old Neetu and six-year-old Rajkumari also died. All deaths occurred in the district of Satna. The cause was malnutrition. More numbers two children died in the first week of August, eight died in the first two weeks of July, one died in June and nine died in May, in the same district. This makes it a total of 24 deaths due to malnutrition in the last two months.
Vikas Samvad, a Bhopal-based ngo that campaigns for right to food, recently broke the news. It claims 46 children died of malnutrition during the period in Madhya Pradesh, with most cases reported from Satna, a tribal district.
The district administration is, of course, quick to disagree. It puts the cause of these deaths as jaundice, stomach infection and exposure to heat. The Block Development Officer of Majhgawan, O S Sukhware, claims all villages in his block are "malnutrition free." Nine malnutrition deaths have been reported from his block. The child development project officer of Satna, Narayan Singh, says "There have been no malnourishment deaths in the area. It's these activists who brainwash villagers into believing that their children are underfed and are dying."
Ground reality
Of all the malnutrition deaths reported in Satna, Hardau village in Ucchera block alone has reported six.
Pappu, a Kol tribal of the village, lost both his children--eight-year-old Archana and three-year-old Gudia--in May, just within the span of a week.
The girls died because there was no food and it was too hot; they were very weak and high fever made their condition worse, says Pappu, who is an occasional labourer at the nearby stone quarry. Many more families and their hungry children in the village seem to be heading for a similar fate. As one walks through Hardau, one sees children with spindly arms and distended bellies, suffering from dehydration, infections, malnourishment and related ailments. In summer, the situation deteriorates, as most of the houses on this hilly terrain are made of quarry stones. Blistering heat and hunger become a fatal combination for these children, says Ramvesh Mawasi of Patnakhurd village.
