Malnourished mom, her child admitted to hospital

MUMBAI: Eighteen-year-old Sarjubai Tota, who gave birth to a malnourished girl in Buldhana a fortnight ago, has been admitted to the government hospital in Akola with her baby for “emergency healthcare”. TOI, in its May 29 edition, had highlighted Tota’s plight and the problem of malnutrition in Sangrampur block (‘Malnourished kids battle to stay alive in drought-hit Maha’).
Tota was rendered paralysed in the third month of her pregnancy. While the mother weighs 28 kg, her daughter is just 1 kg (the normal weight of a newborn is around 2.5 kg).
A team of government officials, including those from the collector’s office, zilla parishad and health department, visited Tota and her daughter at their home in Shemba village on Saturday, following which the two were taken to the hospital.
“We visited the village and found that not only children but even adults are severely undernourished. In several homes, there is no sight of food,” admitted an official from Buldhana’s zilla parishad office.
The Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) has adopted Shemba village, marked for rehabilitation under the Tiger Project, and will soon provide villagers with food and clothing, among other things.
“We will ensure the village gets proper and immediate rehabilitation under the Tiger Project. Until the villagers are rehabilitated, we will take care of them. For starters, we will build pakka homes there,” said MNS district president Vinod Wagh.
The tribal village of Shemba is one of the worst hit in Sangrampur district with 40 malnourished children. A health camp will be held in the village on Tuesday.
The Sangrampur taluka comprises 105 villages and has 3.25 lakh residents. Of these, 15,000 live below the poverty line. While the entire region is plagued by malnutrition, 18 tribal villages have been hit the hardest.
Activists have long been demanding government intervention in Shemba and other tribal villages in Sangrampur block. “The healthcare system here does not work efficiently. Primary healthcare centre activists never visit an area to check the situation on the ground. This results in people wilting away due to malnutrition,” said activist Kailash Khade.