12-year-old girl dies on her way to hospital in malnutrition-hit Palghar

MUMBAI:A Class 6 student died in malnutrition-hit Palghar district on Friday, while a Class 9 student was moved to Nashik government hospital as her health deteriorated.

MUMBAI:A Class 6 student died in malnutrition-hit Palghar district on Friday, while a Class 9 student was moved to Nashik government hospital as her health deteriorated. While the reason behind the death is unknown, state tribal minister Vishnu Savara said the death may not be related to malnutrition.

HT Image

Both the girls – deceased Kaushalya Kusha Bharsat, 12, and Kamal Suraj Chaudhary, 15, -- were students of Sakhra Ashramshala (school-cum-hostel) at Vikramgad.

Sources said Kaushalya died on her way to the hospital. “We are waiting for the postmortem report to ascertain the cause of the death. A report will also be sought from the local administration, as the girl was a student of Ashramshala,” Savara said.

The district is currently in the news for malnutrition-related deaths. Till August, Jawhar tehsil reported 47 deaths, while the number in Mokhada stood at 75. Around 12 children reportedly died due to malnutrition in the past 30 days in the district.

Recently, chief minister Devendra Fadnavis confirmed that 245 children from Palghar died because of malnutrition, while the region reported 195 foetal deaths till August this year.

In a recent survey by the state tribal affairs department for which 1.75 lakh children from Palghar district were screened, 6,034 children in the region were found to be malnourished. Of them, 1,319 children fell in the severe acute malnutrition and 4,715 in the moderate acute malnutrition category.

A task force headed by public health minister Dr Deepak Sawant has been formed to tackle malnutrition.,” said Savara.