Relief for adults only, kids go hungry

Ganges66

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posted on 13 years ago — updated on 1 second ago

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BHUBANESWAR/PARADIP: The food that the Orissa Government provides to the floodaffected is only for the adults. For there is nothin..

BHUBANESWAR/PARADIP: The food that the Orissa Government provides to the floodaffected is only for the adults. For there is nothing in the food packets which brings relief to the children, particularly those below five.
With over two million affected by the severe floods in 19 districts, children have been the worst hit. The dry foods airdropped or the dry ration supplied through relief and rescue teams have essential items only for the adults and minors. No baby food or nutrition supplements are part of the relief. Even as stories of hardship pour in from the floodaffected districts, painful tales of children have come to the fore. Sevenyearold Sarada Mallick of Jagatsinghpur's Bansara village under Kathkota panchayat of Tirtol block has been reportedly missing from Monday. He had gone to a local relief centre to get food items and has not returned yet.

Unconfirmed reports say that over 5,000 children, in the age group of zero to five, have been suffering for the last five days in the floodaffected villages of Jagatsinghpur in the absence of any provision for baby and nutrition food. Similar stories abound in other districts too.

In fact, during the calamity, each child enrolled in the anganwadi is sanctioned an additional ` 2 a day as relief but absence of quality food items during the crisis compounds the problem. With anganwadi centres too affected by the flood, relief for the children and even pregnant women is hard to come by. Besides, operational challenges also pose a problem for including baby food in relief items. "The dry ration such as rice, flattened rice and jaggery are meant to provide immediate relief to the distressed in the floodhit areas where no other source of food is available," said an officer.

With no provision for baby food, anganwadi workers have reportedly been supplying old stock and substandard 'sattu' for the children.

Special Relief Commissioner Pradipta Kumar Mohapatra said the district collectors had been asked to make provision for relief for children at the free kitchen.