Don't want deaths in tribal areas due to lack of medical aid: HC to Maha govt

The Bombay High Court on Monday told the Maharashtra government there must no death in the states tribal areas due to malnutrition and lack of medical aidA bench of Chief Justice Dipankar Datta and Justice GS Kulkarni said it will pass a detailed order directing the state government to review the situation in tribal areas and file a report on the same in HC every two weeksWe dont want anymore deaths This has to stop the HC said referring to deaths in tribal areas due to lack of medical aid as well as malnutrition and such factorsIf someone dies because of unforeseen circumstances or because even after treatment he or she could not be saved then that is a different matter it saidThe HC was hearing a public interest litigation filed in 2007 on the sizable number of deaths of children pregnant women and lactating mothers in Melghat region primarily due to malnutritionThe plea also raised concerns on the dearth of gynaecologists paediatricians and radiologists in public health centres in Melghat and other tribal areas in the stateOn Monday the states counsel Advocate General Ashutosh Kumbhakoni submitted an affidavit listing out steps and schemes the state proposed to implement or was already implementing for the aid of its tribal populationKumbhakoni further said the state government was committed to improving the lives of the tribal populationAlso read Bombay High Court warns Maharashtra govt of stern action if more children die due to malnutritionHowever he said its welfare schemes often hit some roadblocks due to issues such as the tribal belief in seeking treatment from quacks or tantriks instead of doctors as well as their traditional customs etcHe further said the state was providing ration nutritional supplies and medical kits etc to such areas to check malnutrition but most of the tribal population remained thin due to its DNATribal people are naturally thin They are bones and skin I have never come across a fat tribal person Kumbhakoni said in courtThe petitioner advocate Jugal Gilda however told HC that most of the states policies were not properly implementedThe HC then said it wont dispose of the plea till the situation on the ground improvedWe are going to monitor the situation closely We will ask the state government to file reports every fortnight it saidA detailed order of the high court is awaitedThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever