Maharashtra horror: 740 tribal students died in last 10 years -Governance Now

Maharashtra horror: 740 tribal students died in last 10 years

The NHRC has issued a notice to the state over the deaths of children in tribal areas

GN Bureau | October 18, 2016

#NHRC #tribal death #children death #malnutrition #Maharashtra #national human rights commission

National Human Rights Commission

As many as 740 students of residential schools in tribal areas have died in Maharashtra in the past 10 years, revealed an internal report of the state tribal development department.

What’s more shocking is the manner in which the children have died. Media reports suggest that some of these students have died of snake bites, scorpion bites and minor illness. Other reasons for the tragedy include dengue, malaria, food poisoning, suicide and drowning.

Shocked and pained by the tribal development department’s report, the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has issued a notice to the Maharashtra government over the deaths of the children. The commission’s chief secretary has even asked for a detailed report in the matter within four weeks, as per a press release on Tuesday.

There are 552 residential schools for tribal students in the state run by the tribal development department, as per media reports. The issue of the deaths of students in residential schools came to light when a 12-year-old girl from a residential school in Palghar district died on October 7, 2016.

The students coming from the tribal communities generally belong to the poor families. The school authorities are responsible for their welfare, safety and health care needs. The NHRC has observed that negligence on the part of the department of tribal development and the school authorities is a violation of right to life, dignity and equality of the students.

Recognising violation of human rights of children in another incident, the commission has also issued a notice to the Madhya Pradesh government over the deaths of children due to malnutrition-related ailments. Around 116 children have died in the Sheopur district alone during the last five months. The chief medical officer has reportedly accepted these facts. Three nutrition rehabilitation centres in the district are overcrowded and lack in facilities as well as doctors.

Comments

Other News

GST revenue for April 2024 at a new high

The gross Goods and Services Tax (GST) collections hit a record high in April 2024 at ₹2.10 lakh crore. This represents a significant 12.4% year-on-year growth, driven by a strong increase in domestic transactions (up 13.4%) and imports (up 8.3%). After accounting for refunds, the net GST

First Magahi novel presents a glimpse of Bihar bureaucracy a century ago

Fool Bahadur By Jayanath Pati (Translated by Abhay K.) Penguin Modern Classics, 112 pages, Rs 250 “Bab

Are EVs empowering India`s Green Transition?

Against the backdrop of the $3.5 billion Production-Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme launched by the Government of India, sales of Electric Vehicles (EVs) are expected to grow at a CAGR of 35% by 2032. It is crucial to take into account the fact that 86% of EV sales in India were under the price bracket of $2

When Nandini Satpathy told Biju Patnaik: ‘I’ll sit on the chair you are sitting on’

Nandini Satpathy: The Iron Lady of Orissa By Pallavi Rebbapragada Simon and Schuster India, 321 pages, Rs 765

Elections 2024: 1,351 candidates in fray for Phase 3

As many as 1,351 candidates from 12 states /UTs are contesting elections in Phase 3 of Lok Sabha Elections 2024. The number includes eight contesting candidates for the adjourned poll in 29-Betul (ST) PC of Madhya Pradesh. Additionally, one candidate from Surat PC in Gujarat has been elected unopp

2023-24 net direct tax collections exceed budget estimates by 7.40%

The provisional figures of direct tax collections for the financial year 2023-24 show that net collections are at Rs. 19.58 lakh crore, 17.70% more than Rs. 16.64 lakh crore in 2022-23. The Budget Estimates (BE) for Direct Tax revenue in the Union Budget for FY 2023-24 were fixed at Rs. 18.