The Bharatiya Janata Party on Tuesday alleged hunger and malnutrition situation prevailing in habitations of Juanga tribe in Nagada village and adjoining hamlets in Odisha’s Jajpur district was comparable to conditions in drought zone of Ethiopia.
Close on the heels of many children dying in different diseases in the village, two BJP legislators along with party members had visited Nagada village in Jajpur district and found the situation there disheartening.
Addressing a press conference here on Tuesday, Rabi Narayan Naik, who led the BJP team, said, “while 19 children have died during past few months, malnutrition and malaria have been found to be reasons behind last two deaths which has been indicated in post-mortem reports.”
“Sufficient funds are available with the State government for development of particularly vulnerable tribal group like Juanga. But the State government has made little effort to address the issue of hunger and underdevelopment in habitations of Juanga tribe,” said Mr. Naik.
Pradip Purohit, another MLA who reached the village by trekking a hill, said, “Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik must visit the village to see how much development has taken place in his 16 year of rule. The situation in Nagada is as bad as that of in drought zones of Ethiopia.”
“While the primitive tribal community is left to die slow death in forested region, funds allotted for six houses under Indira Awas Yojna scheme has been embezzled by a BJD worker. One cannot find any trace of government programmes in that village,” Mr. Purohit said.
Congress team
A team of Congress team which visited the region said Nagada was not the only villager where chronic malnutrition was prevailing. “Almost all villages, we came across during our visit, depicted similar depressing picture.
The development, the Naveen Patnaik government has been bragging to have achieved in the State, is a joke in Nagada,” said Sulochana Das, a member of Congress delegation.
Ms. Das said, “only 15 beneficiaries from the village are getting old age pension while every member of the community requires government support. Even after 70 years of independence, the government has not been able provide basic service like drinking water and education in the village.”
Pradip Pradhan, convenor of Right To Food, Odisha who had visited the spot said, “many families of Nagada have not been provided ration card under National Food Security Act due to irregularities in survey conducted by government As per guideline of Antodaya Anna Yojana, every Juanga family deserves to get each 35 kg rice per month, but most tribal communities have not been covered under the scheme.”
