The death of a 46-year-old woman at the Pathipara tribal colony at Kodenchery on Monday led to the Health Department conducting a medical camp in the colony, amidst speculation of malnourishment and rampant alcoholism among the tribal people.
District Medical Officer (DMO) Narayana Naik, who visited the colony on Tuesday, said the residents were rather healthy and that except for one sick man, none of them had any serious ailments.
Meanwhile, the reason for the death of the woman, Patta, could not be ascertained as she did not stay in the hospital long enough to conduct any tests, he said and added that she was starving intentionally despite availability of food, which could be a reason for her death.
He expressed the need to create proper awareness among the tribes on the ill-effects of liquor and the need to consume food.
Antony Mathai, president, Kodenchery grama panchayat, pointed out that liquor and tobacco were used rampantly by the tribal people, which resulted in many diseases. “Excess use of liquor leads to lack of hunger. They never eat for days together despite the government providing them grocery free-of-cost. They never cooperate with health officials and do not take medicines,” he said.
Tribal promoters
He said the Department of Scheduled Tribes was planning to appoint tribal promoters in each colony which may help in creating awareness among the tribal people.
Minister for Tribal Affairs P.K. Jayalakshmi called for a comprehensive report on the death of Patta.
Patta was admitted to the Medical College Hospital here on August 29 by health workers, but left the hospital without consent from the hospital authorities.
She refused to return to the hospital, but was taken back after repeated attempts before she succumbed to her illness.
