The Madhya Pradesh High Court has sought a response from the state government regarding the deaths of over 30 tribal children in Balaghat district, reportedly due to infectious diseases.
On Wednesday, the Madhya Pradesh High Court issued notices to the State Health Department, Women and Child Development Department, the Balaghat collector, and others, following a public interest litigation (PIL) filed by Anshul Tiwari, a resident of Narsinghpur district. The PIL was based on newspaper reports alleging that children were not receiving adequate medical care in hospitals with limited bed capacity.
According to a report by Scroll on September 4, at least 25 children from the Baiga and Gond tribes have died since May in Balaghat due to an undetected measles-malaria outbreak. The absence of a healthcare system in the remote Adivasi habitation is believed to have contributed to this.
During the hearing last week, the court had expressed concern over filing a PIL solely based on newspaper reports and asked the petitioner to visit the affected areas, verify the facts, and submit a report. The petitioner submitted his report following his visit to Balaghat, which alleged that handpumps in the affected areas were supplying yellow-coloured water and that children and women had not received nutritious food for months.
The report also claimed that the area was plagued by poor sanitation, causing infections and contributing to the continued deaths of children. It added that the administration took action only after more than 30 deaths, following which the number of hospital beds was increased and health, sanitation, and cleanliness in the area were improved.
Source:
Scroll.in
