Jajpur/Kaliapani: There is no let-up in the deteriorating health of malnourished kids of hilltop Nagada village under Sukinda block in Jajpur district as the condition of 22 children suffering from malnutrition and anemia was found critical Wednesday.
The situation is worsening day by day with several children getting affected by various ailments. The administration, however, is yet to come up with strong measures to arrest the situation. While 14 malnourished kids have died in five months, two more died Tuesday.
This has happened despite the district collector ordering the officials to remain vigilant of the problem and directing Tata Steel authorities to take care of the children’s health at a meeting a few days back.
The collector even directed the district child protection unit and a medical team from Sukinda community health centre to visit the village and take stock of the situation. However, villagers have alleged no medical team has reached the village. The district officials except deliberating on the issue in meetings have done little to arrest the trend.
Moreover, 14 days have passed since the administrative officials visited the village but no action has followed since then.
The collector had directed the officials to provide cooked food to villagers from Saturday but that order is yet to be implemented.
While Nidhia Padhan is yet to forget the death of his six-month-old son which happened a month back, his youngest son Sunu’s condition turning critical has pushed him to the verge of a breakdown.
Tata Steel authorities have also defied the collector’s order of drilling two tube-wells and installing solar lights on the plea that there is no proper road to the village. As a result, the villagers still depend on contaminated water of a spring for consumption.
When contacted, chief district medical officer Phanindra Kumar Panigrahi said he can speak on the issue only after an inquiry. PNN
