Patrapur: Even as the government boasts of having several schemes to prevent malnutrition, people in many tribal villages still continue to suffer from undernourishment thanks to the indifference of the concerned government officials and corrupt local leaders.
A case in point is Rambha, a village under this block close to Orissa-Andhra Pradesh border where more than 15 kids have been suffering from poor nutrition.
Located, 3,000km above the sea-level, Rambha houses 22 tribal families with a population of 80. One needs to wade through water of two rivers-Mahendratanaya and Kalingadala to reach Purunagarh first and later travel 25 km in bike to arrive at Adapathar. There is no approach road from here and to reach the village one has to trek hilly forested terrain for three hours.
Leave alone modern facilities, the tribals here have no access to basic facilities like health, education and a proper road, said some residents.
They remain indoor after the dusk fearing wild animals. Besides, the villagers don’t get kerosene to burn lamps, it was learnt.
As pre-school training, an Anganwadi worker visits the village once in several months. She hands over some eggs and a few packets of ‘sattu’ which is just a formality as kids don’t learn anything from her. The once-a-while provision of foods has made many suffer from malnutrition, a report said. The affected kids include Jitu Sabar, Jagannath Sabar, Prasant Sabar, Raju Sabar, Kedar Sabar, Suresh Sabar, Jena Sabar and others.
Apart from poor nutrition, the children also suffer from fever and skin diseases but no health officials visit this small village to address their health issues.
In the absence of a school, parents here prefer to send their children to tend cattle.
“It is not possible to send our children to a school which is five km from here as they have to pass through dense forest,” said a villager.
Locals claimed the government pays no heed to address their problems as they live near the border. PNN
