Kalahandi battles malnutrition woes

Expressbuzz, Sep 14, 2009
Uma Shankar Kar
First Published : 14 Sep 2009 04:36:00 AM ISTLast Updated : 14 Sep 2009 08:37:52 AM IST

BHAWANIPATNA: Tribals are more prone to infectious diseases due to malnutrition. An Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) bulletin said this in October 2003. In 2009 too this holds good in some of the tribal pockets of Kalahandi which are witnessing gastroenteritis and malaria in epidemic proportions.


A senior doctor working in the field of epidemic control in the district preferring anonymity asked, ‘‘Can a patient sustain only by administration of IV-Fluid without supportive nutritional diet?’’ No is the answer as at least 20 patients died of infectious diseases after treatment.

The food habit and cultivation pattern are such that tribals are deprived of nutritional diets. It is usually observed that here people’s food habit is quite different from coastal plains due to over dependence on forest and shifting cultivation in the absence of other sources of earning. They grow 13 different varieties of crops including ragi, kandul, kating, koshla and judunga through shifting cultivation which sustain them for three to four months after repaying debts to money-lenders. They also collect various tubers like keukanda, pitakanda, bhatkanda, kargikanda and mundikanda from the nearby forests. As during this period of the season, crops grown through shifting cultivation are not harvested, the food consumption is usually restricted to gruel made of ragi mixed with little rice and salt. This situation improves during winter as harvesting is completed by then.

Against this background, introduction of NREGS held out hope with the expectation that the age-old food insecurity will be minimized.

However, the scheme has failed depriving people of their purchasing power. Jobs to registered people in the district is poor and it’s abysmally poor in the inaccessible tribal pockets, according to data of District Rural Development Agency (DRDA). According to statistics, in the financial year 2008-2009, job cards were issued to 2,64,862 persons of which employment could be provided only to 82,051 persons generating 136,1818 mandays in the district. Only 736 families could get 100 days of mandatory work in the district. The scenario has not improved in current financial year too. According to the report, in 2009-10, 2,64,862 persons have registered themselves and among them so far 1,50.653 persons have been provided jobs generating 1,50,653 mandays. But only eight families have completed 100 days of work. The scenario is worse in inaccessible tribal pockets.

The status of NREGS in the epidemic-hit tribal panchayats under Lanjigarh and Bhawanipatna blocks present a sorry picture. Jugsaipatna, Chancher and Sagada gram panchayats in Bhawanipatna block and Malijuang, Pahadpadar, Lakhbahali and Bengaon gram panchayats in Lanjigarh block are worst affected by the epidemic outbreak. According to DRDA statistics, in last fiscal job cards were issued to 818, 664, and 1439 persons in Jugsaipatna, Chancher and Sagada gram panchayats in Bhawanipatna block respectively of which 521, 136, and 931 persons were provided jobs in the respective gram panchayats. And among them only eight, zero and three families could get 100 days of work. During current financial year same numbers of job cards were issued and employment was offered to 118 persons of 67 households in Jugsaipatna gram panchayat generating 1517 mandays while 37 persons of 27 households of Chancher got employment generating 480 mandays and 159 persons of 101 households of Sagada gram panchayat got jobs generating 1389 mandays. Similarly in Malijuang, Pahadpadar and Lakhbahali Bengaon gram panchayats, which are epidemic affected, in Lanjigarh block persons provided work and mandays generated are very poor in current financial year. In the epidemic pockets of Bhawanipatna and Lanjigarh blocks the work availability under NREGS is hardly 10 to 15 days so far during current financial year. In several places workers engaged are not getting their wages for months for different reasons.

In this context Bharat Thakur, chief executive of NGO Janakalyan Sanstha who is working in inaccessible pockets, expressing anguish said as the people are deprived of employment they have no purchasing power. In the absence of work, they have no way out but to entirely depend on forests giving rise to malnutrition problems, he reasoned.