BHOPAL: The malnutrition deaths in Sheopur might have echoed across the country and health department might have admitted malnutrition as cause of those deaths but the government, replying to a question raised in state Assembly, has denied any malnutrition deaths in the state in past three years.
Former chief minister Babulal Gaur and Congress MLA Ramnivas Rawat, who had put up separate questions on malnutrition, grilled the government. Replying to Gaur’s question, minister for woman and child development (WCD), Archana Chitnis said not a single person had died in the past three years in Gwalior division due to malnutrition.
Scores of deaths took place due to diseases rising from malnutrition in Ashok Nagar, Bhind, Datia, Guna, Gwalior, Morena, Sheopur and Shivpuri of Gwalior division. As many as 129 children died in these districts in 11 months in 2015 due to fever.
As far as under weight children are concerned, 1772 children in Sheopur, 808 in Ashoknagar, 458 in Datia, 2054 in Guna, 1547 in Gwalior and 3487 children in Shivpuri were found underweight.
Chitnis, responding to a question raised on raids on suppliers of nutritious food, said I-T department has not given any information about the owners of the companies, which supply nutritious food. On the question of release of white paper on malnutrition, she said the process is underway but it is not possible when it would be put up.
