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Jaipur:
A labourer in Rajasthan's Bhilwara district Saturday alleged his
two daughters died of hunger, while two other children are
admitted to a hospital in serious condition. Authorities have
denied his claim but are investigating the deaths.
The incident took place in Bheem Nagar village of Bhilwara, some
250 km from here.
Though, the district administration has denied the allegations,
medical teams went door-to-door in the village, mostly inhabited
by people from a tribal community, and took blood samples to check
their health.
"Ramlal Bheel, 30, listed in the Below Poverty Line (BPL) group,
claims his one-year-old daughter Manju died Sep 1 while another
daughter, Geeta, 12, died Thursday despite the fact that they did
not have any illness," an official, who did not want to be
identified, told IANS.
Ramlal says he himself was bed-ridden due to some disease and was
unable to go to work.
"He claims that he could not provide food to his four children.
The other two, Maya, 1, and Kailash, 4, were admitted to a
hospital by some activists of an NGO Friday when they were also
reported ill. He claims that food items, which are provided to BPL
families under a government scheme, were not being distributed in
the village, so he was unable to avail of them also," said the
official.
District Collector Onkar Singh and other senior administrative
officials rushed to the village to take stock of the situation
Saturday.
"It is unlikely that the deaths were due to hunger. However, a
probe has been ordered," said the official.
The deaths have stirred a fresh controversy in the state as
several people belonging to Sahariya tribe had died of hunger in
Baran district of the state in 2002 and 2003.
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