Kaliapani: Close on the heels of two children succumbing to malaria and several others getting afflicted by the vector-borne disease in Nagada, the district collector and Sukinda MLA visited the hilltop village in Jajpur district and took stock of the situation Tuesday.
District collector Ranjan Kumar Das and MLA Preetiranjan Ghadei after their arrival in Lower Nagada village visited the houses of the malaria-afflicted kids and enquired about their health. Das during the visit came under fire from the Juanga residents as they complained about living in starvation after forest officials barred them from carrying out shifting cultivation.
The tribals in the three villages questioned Das as to what they will eat in the absence of any livelihood opportunities. The collector assured them of alternative sources of livelihood and asked them not to lose heart. Das and Ghadei also laid the foundation stone of seven houses under Biju Pucca Ghar Yojana in Lower, Middle and Upper Nagada villages.
The duo also met a malnourished kid Daktar, son of Asadu Padhan, who recently left the nutritional rehabilitation centre (NRC) in Jajpur and returned home. They enquired from his father about the reason behind the child leaving the NRC and the health condition of the kid.
Later, they called the members of district malaria unit camp in the village and asked them to have a check-up of the child.
They also directed the CDMO Phanindra Panigrahi to ascertain the reason behind the spread of the disease and take measures for its removal. Ghadei while discussing with Panigrahi expressed his displeasure over his response on malaria deaths. Das while taking stock of the situation directed the project director Braja Gopal Acharya of DRDA to speed up the house construction work till plinth level by June 5.
The collector also directed Acharya to finish road work connecting all the three Nagada villages by the same time. Sources said the road connecting Nagada hill was washed away in the rain Monday night. On being informed of the collector and the MLA’s visit, the implementing agency repaired the road on a war footing before their arrival in the villages.
Health deputy director Subhananda Mohapatra and joint director Dr Madan Mohan Pradhan of National Vector-Borne Diseases Control Programme had visited the hilltop villages Saturday. PNN
