Attappadi may not be Somalia, but the facts are a grim reminder of what it can be

KOCHI: Attappadi may not be

Somalia

, but the facts are a grim reminder of what it can be in the near future.

The infant mortality rate in the tribal block stands at 38, which is three times higher than the state average.

The Congress can score brownie political points highlighting the `perceived' insult on the state, but the fact remains that the 42,000-strong tribal populace here are living in sub-human conditions.

The three tribal communities Irulas, Mudugas and Kurumbas still do not have basic amenities nor do they have land to subsist on agriculture.

Sadly, none of the manifestos brought out by LDF, UDF and NDA have concrete proposals to bring these tribal communities into the mainstream social development narrative of the state.

“All parties should stop politicizing the tribal issue and instead work on the ground to make a change in their impoverished lives,'' said Rajendra Prasad, president of Thampu, a child rights NGO working in Attapadi.

He said a detailed study done by research scholars from Chittur College, Palakkad, analyzing the livelihood status of tribes in Attapadi, showed that the Human Development Indices (HDI) in the tribal block is comparable to African countries like Somalia and Ethiopia.

“This study was discussed in public forums and during that time no one disputed the fact. It is not about how much of Attapadi looks like Somalia, but is more about the pain and agony of people,'' he said. In the health sector, for instance, an ITDP survey showed that more than half of the children in Attapadi were severely malnourished and some suffered from

tuberculosis

and sickle cell anaemia.

A study by a team of doctors led by Dr E K Satyan, former vice-principal of Alappuzha medical college, found that the infants there were more vulnerable to diseases and secondary infections as their immunity levels were very low. The children only weighed half the required weight as prescribed by WHO.

The survey report also called for providing nutritious food to both children and pregnant mothers, yet none of these recommendations were implemented.

Tribal welfare activists point out that the state government should focus on two main social aspects to mitigate infant deaths. “The state should support and encourage tribal people who have minor land holdings (30 %) to cultivate ragi, corn, fruits and vegetables in their farm lands so that they can stop depending on the inferior dole provided by the rations shops and ICDS centres,'' Prasad says.

All the 192 villages in the three panchayats face the problem of water contamination, which can be solved by setting up a treatment plant, he said.