The Health Department conducted free medical camps at the Government Tribal School at Attathode and at the tribal hamlets of Chalakkayam, Nilackal, and Rajampara in the Sabarimala forests on Thursday.
District Medical Officer Gracy Ithaq said the medical team of the department visited the tribespeople staying in makeshift sheds pitched in the forest areas, following media reports on viral fever outbreak in the tribal belt.
The team led by Dr. Sini found 12 children suffering from fever and two others from diarrhoea. Six children at the Government Tribal School had fever and one had tonsillitis, Dr. Sini said. All the children were given medicines and advised rest, she said.
As many as 25 families of Malampandaram tribespeople are staying in makeshift sheds made of plastic sheets and tree branches in the forest areas of Chalakkayam, Nilackal, and Ponnampara in a pathetic condition. These hamlets experience acute scarcity of food and water. The scorching summer has already dried up many natural streams in the area.
People have to walk a long way to the forest interiors to collect water. The tribespeople alleged that the Tribal Development Department had not been supplying food grains and provisions for the past few weeks. The medical team’s visit to the colony was on the directions of District Collector S. Harikishore. The Tribal Development Department sources said rice and provisions had been supplied to all tribal families in Sabarimala on Wednesday.
