Shobha Karandlaje, MP, said on Monday that the Department of Health and Family Welfare should take immediate steps to check infant mortality deaths in Udupi district. She was chairing the District Development Coordination and Monitoring Committee at the Zilla Panchayat Hall, here.
Earlier, Rohini, District Health and Welfare Officer, said that there had been 135 infant mortality deaths in the district in 2017-18. Nearly 50% of these infant mortality deaths were the result of congenital abnormalities. This was considerable less when compared to other parts of the State. In one case, the low weight of the child was responsible for it, she said.
Ms. Karandlaje said that while the figure might be lower compared to other districts, it was quite high as Udupi was considered to be a highly literate district. She sought to know how many of these women fell below the poverty line and how many came from migrant families.
Dr. Rohini said she would gather the information and provide it to the MP.
Poor accessibility
When Gracy Gonsalves, Deputy Director, Women and Child Welfare Department, said the progress achieved by the district under the Mathrupurna Scheme was 50%, Ms. Karandlaje said pregnant women and lactating mothers in the coastal and Malenadu districts did not like to go to anganawadi centres and have nutritious meals there as envisaged under the scheme. Besides this, the topography made it tough for them to reach the anganawadis.
The Department should send a report to the higher authorities in Bengaluru and see if it was possible to deposit money for purchasing nutritious food to the bank accounts of pregnant women and lactating mothers, she said, and added that this system was being followed under the Mathru Vandana scheme sponsored by the Union government.
44 new towers
The officer of Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd. (BSNL) said that 44 new towers had been installed in the district in the last four years. There were 165 3G towers and 215 2G towers in the district. A proposal to install 28 new towers in the district had been submitted.
The installation of a tower each at Pajaka and Attur in the district was going on, he said.
Connectivity issues
Ms. Karandlaje said that the BSNL should also respond immediately to public complaints of connectivity, which were increasing in the district.
The meeting was informed that the 30 government low-floored buses were operating in the district.
