42 children die in Madhya Pradesh

Malnutrition has played havoc in the villages of M.P…it has clamied the lives of a reported 42 children. A large number of people from an estimated 150 villages of M.P's Satna district, where malnutrition has breathed over the families, have decided to boycott elections if the women and children continue to suffer from hunger.

Child rights activists said that "It is symbolic of a deep-rooted problem afflicting over 80,000 underprivileged children in this state."

Prashant Dubey of MP Right to Food campaign (MPRTFC) said.

Unicef operating in Madhya Pradesh has recently implemented some uplifting plans like the Bal Shakti Yojana, the Shaktimaan and the Bal Sanjeevani Abhiyan that includes medical services for the benefit of malnourished kids. In spite of that, children in the villages of M.P are dying of malnutrition…and to add the bitter salt, the authorities don’t accept this fact… they say that the children die due to various diseases.

There exist about 33,000 malnourished children in M,P in the 0-5 years age group… maths says that number is 60 percent of the total child population in the entire state. The percentage of underweight children in Madhya Pradesh increased from 54 in the year 2000 to 60.3 in 2008.

Crores of rupees have been spent by the government on Anganwadis (creches) but the they seem to lack basic facilities like seats, drinking water, toilets or even space to cook

Bandelal Kol, a resident of one of the affected villages asked, "Anganwadis remain closed. Foodgrains are never available at fair price shops. How do we feed our children in such a case?"