The statistics provided by the Bihar government say that nearly 136 children have died in the state while the activists who are working on the ground in Muzaffarpur claim that the death toll is above 200.
Amid the negligence from mainstream media along with the state and central government, Democratic Youth Federation of India (DYFI) carried out protests in Mumbai while holding the concerned authorities and ministers responsible for the deaths of children in Bihar.
Since June 1, more than 600 children across Bihar have been admitted and are suffering from Acute Encephalitis Syndrome (AES) which has taken the lives of 136 children in Bihar, according to the state health department. From Muzaffarpur district alone, almost 117 children have died due to ‘brain fever’.
DYFI member Laxmi Shamanthul informed that this is not the first time that the children have died due to AES outbreak in Bihar. “This happened in 2014 and is now happening in the year 2019,” she said. Earlier in 2014, almost 134 children died due to the same.
In the year 2014, Union Minister Harsh Vardhan had promised 100 per cent vaccination for children in Bihar and to construct a hospital with 100 beds which can accommodate maximum children. However, nothing happened and after taking the oath as a Union Health Minister again in 2019, Vardhan is making the same promises.
Mumbai DYFI President Advocate Pradeep Salvi said that more than 200 children have died due to the negligence of government and lack of medical facility in government hospitals. Moreover, there are not enough doctors available to treat the admitted children.
We believe that the Bihar government is responsible for these deaths. We demand the resignation of Bihar Health Minister Mangal Pandey from his post and Chief Minister Nitish Kumar should announce compensation for the families who have lost their child,” Mumbai DYFI President Advocate Pradeep G Salvi asserted.
DYFI also condemned the ‘inhuman’ act committed against an eight-boy-old boy who belongs to the Dalit community in Maharashtra’s Wardha. DYFI member Shamanthul stated that the atrocity against the boy was committed just because he belonged to a so-called lower caste.
On June 15, the boy entered a temple and was accused of theft. The young child was stripped naked and was forced to sit on the hot marble tiles which caused several burns on his body.
The caretaker of the temple accused the boy of theft and committed ‘inhuman’ act against the young child. Although the accused have been charged with atrocity Act, no arrest has been made by the police. We demand the accused to be prosecuted,” Mumbai DYFI President Advocate Salvi informed.
According to The Wire’s report, the incident happened after the eight-year-old entered a temple to play and was brutalised by a daily wage worker, Amol Dhore. However, the police say that the child was beaten up for “stealing” and not for entering the temple. The accused has been charged with the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act and additional sections of Protection of Children from Sexual Offenders (POSCO).
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