Fast against malnutrition menace

SOME LOCALS and activists of Vision, a social organisation, staged a dharna and went on 48-hour hunger strike at district headquarters on Monday to register their protest against the alleged growing menace of malnutrition in Varanasi.

SOME LOCALS and activists of Vision, a social organisation, staged a dharna and went on 48-hour hunger strike at district headquarters on Monday to register their protest against the alleged growing menace of malnutrition in Varanasi.

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The leaders alleged that a large number of families at Nakhi Ghat, Mira Ghat, Sidhawa Ghat and Hidayat Nagar are in the grip of malnutrition. Five activists including Jagriti Rahi, Anita, Brijesh, Shivanand and Sanjay sat on hunger strike for 48 hours.

Jagriti Rahi of Vision said that around 500 families belonging to these localities were on the verge of starvation and their victims were becoming victims of malnutrition. She further claimed that there were reports of death of one or two kids every month in these localities due to starvation and malnutrition.

She said that the victim families of these localities were still deprived of administrative relief package. She further alleged that apathetic attitude of district administration was responsible for the growing problems of malnutrition and starvation.

The activists were demanding immediate medical assistance in the slum area of Nakhi Ghat to check the deaths of kids due to malnutrition, red cards for families living under Below Poverty Line, arrangement of emergency funds for those families which were on the verge of starvation and set up of Anganbari Centre at every one thousand population.

A large number of locals including Muslim women along with their kids participated in the dharna. Prominent among those who participated in dharna included Kesar Jaha, Zarina, Najma, Parveen, Samra and Shahjahan.