New Delhi: It is a fact that India is a poor country and many of its citizens live at the level of destitution. But that still does not excuse the sorry instances of child malnutrition that come to light across the country, especially since both the state and union governments boast of an array of child welfare, health and nutrition programmes.
Karnataka is not one of India's poorer states and neither is its record of misgovernance worse than that of some others. Yet, it is shocking to discover that as many as 2,600 children have died of malnutrition in just one district, Raichur, of Karnataka in the last three years.
The figures come from the women and child welfare department of the state which reveals that some of the villages affected do not have access to clean drinking water or the public distribution system.
The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party, which has always claimed to be a party with a difference, seems indifferent to this continuing tragedy. The chief minister has asked the minister of the child welfare department to visit the affected villages but he is yet to do so.