Malnutrition deaths: Pankaja Munde visits Mokhada teshil

Maharashtra Minister for Women and Child Welfare Pankaja Munde today visited the tribal-dominated Mokhada tehsil of Palghar district where several malnutrition deaths have taken place.
Munde met the family members of two children who died recently due to malnutrition at Koch and Kalambawadi villages.
District collector Abhijit Bangar had said yesterday that as many as 212 children have died in the district since April this year due to malnutrition.
A few days ago, Tribal Development minister and district Guardian minister Vishnu Sawra had faced people's wrath when he visited the area, and had to leave.
No untoward incident happened during Munde's visit today, but the administration's evocation of section 144 of CrPC (restricting movement of people) at Koch and Kalambawadi fearing trouble drew criticism from local organisations and opposition parties.

Heavy police presence was seen at all the places where Munde visited.

Munde was accompanied by BJP MP Chintaman Wanga, MLAs Pascal Dhanare and Manisha Chowdhari and others.
She also met a delegation of the Shramjivi Sanghatana, a local organisation, led by Vivek Pandit. The delegation told the minister that 20 per cent of posts of health officials in the district were vacant, and also demanded upgradation of Jawhar rural hospital into a district civil hospital.
MNS, meanwhile, took out a protest march to Sawra's house at Wada in the district.
The Shramjivi Sanghatna claimed in a press release that another child suffering from malnutrition, named Rahul Kashiram Wadkar (2) from Ruighar in Jawhar teshil, died at the Nashik Civil Hospital this morning.