Odisha: Central team visit 'malnutrition' hit village

Bhubaneswar, Aug 3: A five-member team of the Union Health Ministry visited Nagada village in Odisha's Jajpur district on Tuesday to take stock of situation following the recent death of 19 children reportedly due to malnutrition.

The team leader Joint Director Chetan Sanghvi said situation like Nagada prevailed in many other places in the country. However, he expressed satisfaction over the steps taken by the state government in the aftermath of the alleged malnutrition deaths.

The team which held discussion with the district administration after their arrival at Jajpur yesterday, today walked about 10 km to the hill top where about 52 juang tribal families stay.

The central team reviewed the mitigation measures undertaken by the departments after the deaths came to light.

"The state government has responded positively towards the problem in the region, which is clearly visible. There are some problems which are perennial to the whole country and some problems are acute.

So I don't think there will be a solution for everything in one capsule," Arun Singh, a member of the team, said. Suggesting that long-term development plans are needed for the social upliftment of the people of this backward region, he said some perennial problems must be taken care of.

While 19 infants died allegedly due to malnutrition, another 20 children were under treatment at hospital. The Central team is scheduled to meet senior state government officials tomorrow.

PTI