Chittoor district, currently ranked 11{+t}{+h}in the State in the activities of Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS), will soon be in the number one slot, said District Collector Siddarth Jain.
Addressing a meeting of officials of ICDS and Anganwadi workers at the Collectorate here, the Collector said the rate of mother and infant mortality in the district was alarming, but the data of ICDS and the district medical and health office were contradictory. “Not even a single death of mother or infant should take place due to human negligence. Anyone found to be lethargic and not willing to cooperate with the system will be shown the door,” Mr Jain warned.
For the record, Chittoor district registered over 200 maternal and nearly 4,000 infant deaths during the last three years. The Collector issued instructions for curbing the social aberration - Mathamma - in the district, particularly in the eastern mandals. As per this practice, a girl child on attaining puberty will immediately get married. “ICDS officials and Anganwadi staff should thoroughly monitor this unhealthy practice and take steps to file criminal cases against those encouraging this,” he said.
Some Anganwadi workers said most pregnant and lactating mothers were unwilling to receive food supplied by the centres owing to their poor quality. An ICDS official brought to the notice of the Collector that village organisers were supplying low quantity of provisions, but were trying to project as if they were supplying sufficient quantum.
Mother and infant mortality rates in the district alarming, says Collector
