Malkangiri: The blame-game between the ruling party and the Opposition over a spate of deaths due to Japanese encephalitis took an ugly turn Friday with Orissa Pradesh Congress Committee president Prasad Harichandan squarely blaming the Biju Janata Dal government for the deaths.
Nearly 5,000 children have died in the last seven years in the district not due to pigs or mosquitoes but because of a callous and indifferent approach of the state government, Harichandan told mediapersons.
Though a medical team diagnosed the cause of the disease in August, the health department did not take prompt steps to immediately vaccinate the other children to check the spread of the disease, Harichandan claimed.
Some of the parents who lost their children even went to the extent of filing cases with police against the government holding it responsible for their children’s deaths.
On the other hand, the ruling party members blamed the 50 years of ‘misrule’ of the
Congress party in the state for the current status of the district. Congress never wanted the development of the tribals in order to further their own vested interests, the BJD said.
Meanwhile, questions are being raised as to how the tribal-dominated district has fallen behind so drastically in hygiene despite having adequate representation in both the Assembly and Parliament.
It is alleged that the administration has failed to bring the real picture of the tribal villages to light after the district was affected by Maoist activities. Besides, most of the people’s representatives of the district were reportedly involved in business and contract works instead of fighting for the development of the area they represent.
At present, putting the blame squarely on pigs seems to be the safest way for the politicians to shirk responsibility, locals said.
Reason behind proliferation of pigs
Earlier, well-to-do families of the tribal community used to rear pigs in tribal villages. They were not doing it for profit but to offer them to the poor for their services. Besides, the animals were sacrificed during festive occasions as part of tribal rituals. But towards the end of the 1960s, pig farming began to be taken up as a profitable business as open selling of pork in the market became increasingly commonplace. At present, pork is sold every Wednesday at Shikhpali and Poteru weekly markets.
It is also sold in abundance along the main road of Kalimela in the district. The delicacy is much in demand due to its low price. While mutton is sold at `500 per kg, underprivileged villagers can buy pork for `200 per kg. This has prompted more people to take up pig rearing to supplement their income.
People alleged the animal husbandry department was indifferent to the development. Had the pigs been vaccinated like other farm animals like goat, cattle and poultry, the situation would not have come to this, they said.
100 more fogging machines in Malkangiri
In view of the massive deaths of children, the district administration has managed to bring in 100 mosquito-killing fogging machines to control the vector menace.
Apart from affected areas, the machines would be in operation in other areas also. A drive to shift the pigs and eliminate the mosquitoes has been intensified after experts zeroed in on culex mosquitoes as the carrier of Japanese Encephalitis virus from the pigs.
Though the deaths at the district headquarters hospital has been reported to be 52, the number is believed to be more than 200 in remote areas of the district. PNN
