Umaria, Madhya Pradesh, goes to sleep at 7 pm. Or the roads give that impression바카라quiet and enchantingly deserted. The young (it was carved out of Shahdol in 1998) and small district is also home to Bandhavgarh National Park.
Umaria also has a prevalent malpractice, called daagna, which has its roots in superstition. Under this, village elders or local healers singe a sick child바카라s belly with hot iron, a piece of bangle, neem wood, or even the sharp end of a sickle. 바카라Children are usually branded when they suffer from pneumonia, when the respiration rate goes up and chest in-drawing happens. Village folks believe it will bring relief, but that바카라s superstition. Plus, there바카라s a risk of the wound getting infected,바카라 says Chandra Pal Shakya, a paediatrician at Umaria바카라s district hospital.
Learning of this when he took over as district collector in March 2019, Swarochish Somavanshi decided to gauge its extent. He told officials to recÂord instances of daagna along with other indicators like weight, height etc in the biannual survey conducted under Dastak Abhiyaan.
The results showed that 562 kids were found to have been singed through daagna in Umaria. Somavanshi decided to combat it. 바카라People would say, Collector sahab to chhoti si cheez ke peechhe pad gaye hain (The collector is making a big deal of it),바카라 he says, showing photos of children with burnt bellies, even necks, on his phone. In one, the entire chest and belly of an infÂant is covered with burn marks, as if a hundred cigarettes were stubbed on the little torso. 바카라I decÂided this is the biggest issue that my district faces,바카라 he adds.
A victim of daagna, his distended belly punctured with burn marks.
The children are usually subjected to this cruel 바카라cure바카라 when they are ill with pneumonia, or cold, or are suffering from malnourishment, says Shanti Bele, the district programme officer for women and child development. 바카라The practice has a direct connection to nutrition바카라poor nutrition leads to kwashiorkor, which resÂults in a protruding belly, and marasmus, which causes stomach shrinkage, thereby increasing the chances of their being subjected to daagna. There have been cases where hot iron was put on genitals.바카라
What happens when a child is singed? SomavaÂnshi says, is she is deprived of medical care as guardians believe that burning will heal them, and a serious wound is inflicted on her that can be fatal. To curb daagna, he launched 바카라operation sanjeevani바카라, with a three-pronged approach.
The first is deterrence. The collector has issued orders, warning people against it. FIRs have been registered against 11 offenders in the district.
The second part is monitoring. On Tuesdays, children under five are checked against health parÂameters by workers at anganwadis. In Umaria, children are also checked for possible daagna marks. The sarpanch, the panchayat secretary, and the anganwadi worker all sign a register after monitoring. The crucial leg of the programme is public awareness. 바카라I feel that law or administration alone can바카라t fight social evil. We face a lot of resÂistance if we try to interfere in people바카라s customs. That바카라s why we have started reaching out to social and religious leaders,바카라 says Somavanshi. Awareness camps also advise people against it.
A native of UP바카라s Rae Bareli and son of a decorated police officer, Somavanshi tells his officials, 바카라We are the advocates of those who can바카라t afford to have an advocate on their own.바카라 Before joining the IAS in 2011, he often switched jobs because they got monotonous. 바카라But the challenges, immense responsibilities and sheer satisfaction in this job keep you glued to it. For instance, if you want to distribute blankets to the needy, you have a whole stock at your disposal. You just have to figure out ways to distribute them,바카라 he says.
A poet himself, he talks fondly about Kabir, Sahir Ludhianvi, and Gulzar. His love for the Constitution surpasses his love for poetry. If there is one thing he wishes to change, it바카라s to bring child health and education into the mainstream debate. 바카라It will sensitise the government and bureaucracy to the cause, eventually leading to greater budget allocation and more effective policy,바카라 he says.
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By Salik Ahmad in Umaria
