The district administration to undertake screening of all children in Palghar's four tribal talukas

The district administration has undertaken the screening of all children in Palghar's four tribal talukas following a number of malnutrition cases coming to light. About 60 per cent of the screening work, being done with help of angangwadi workers, has been completed, District Collector Abhijit Bhangar said on Monday.

A total of 2,24,293 children in age group of 0-6 would be screened in the special drive taken in the talukas, he said. The district administration is taking all possible measures to save the children from malnutrition, he said adding much more needs to be done to solve the problem. "Our focus is mostly on the four talukas of Jawhar, Mokahada, Wada and Vikramgadh.

The infant mortality rate in these talukas is around 30-35 against the state average of 20," Bhangar said. The district administration was also attending to other factors like providing employment to the needy under MNREGA scheme, nutritious food to children, and increasing institutional deliveries. For this purpose, the midwives were being made part of the programme and they are given honorarium if they refer the delivery cases to hospitals.

Realising that the district's tribal pockets are sensitive, the collector said they are concentrating on providing the villagers more and better services, he said adding death of even a single child is not a good sign.

"Our efforts are on by all means and we are utilising the available funds and resources, including the services of voluntary organisations and NGOs to cater to the needs of the tribal population," Bhangar said. The collector said that the district administration was in the process of educating the villagers, especially the mothers, and pregnant woman about child and health care.