30 districts of Gujarat have 1.26 lakh malnourished children

More than 1.26 lakh children in 30 districts of Gujarat are malnourished, said the Gujarat government in the assembly on Thursday. Of these kids, 24,121 were "severely underweight".

The government tabled the data in the state assembly in reply to questions raised by Congress MLAs. Bhanu Babariya, minister of women and child development, informed the assembly that of the total 1.26 lakh malnourished children in the state, 1.02 lakh were "underweight".

The data from the 30 districts revealed the tribal-dominated district of Narmada accounted for 12,492, the highest number of malnourished children.

It was followed by Vadodara (11,322), Anand (9,615), Sabarkantha (7,270), Surat (6,967) and Bharuch (5,863), said Babariya in her written replies.

The minister wrote, "Narmada once again led among districts with severely underweight children. The district had 2,443 such kids, followed by Vadodara (2,191), Anand (1,838), Sabarkantha (1,636), Surat (1,266) and Banaskantha (1,149)."

Babariya, in the written reply, said the state government is taking various steps to end malnutrition in the state. Children aged 3 to 6 years are given hot breakfast and lunch at anganwadis (childcare centres).

In addition, fruits are given to children twice a week, said Babariya.

For children in the age group of six months to three years, the department provides seven packets of 'Bal Shakti' take-home ration, each weighing 500 grams, 10 packets to 'severely underweight' kids of 3 to 6 years, and four food packets to 'underweight' children, she said.

The minister said the state government also provides double-fortified salt, fortified oil, and wheat flour to anganwadi children and their mothers to tackle malnutrition.

Meanwhile, in reply to a question by Congress Leader Amit Chavda, the government said the number of malnourished children in the Ahmedabad district was 2,236, of which 1,730 were underweight, and 497 were severely malnourished.

In Ahmedabad city, the number of malnourished children was 182, of which 151 were underweight, and 31 were severely malnourished.