Following the announcement made by Women and Child Development
Minister Umashree about giving special focus to DJ Halli, Azad Nagar,
Pantarpallya, Nayandahalli and surrounding areas to address
malnourishment among children, BBMP Commissioner N Lakshminarayana
inspected DJ Halli, Muneshwara Block, Kushalnagar and SK Garden wards on
Saturday.

The purpose of the visit was to study the area, get an 
idea of the situation and establish 40 new anganwadis to address issues
like health, sanitation and water supply. The commissioner told Express
that other stakeholders and BBMP staff were also summoned to find out
deficiencies in these areas. Basic amenities in these areas have been
neglected for many years, he said.

“We found housing is a major
point of concern. I will put up a file before the slum board to
construct more houses,” the commissioner said adding that health of
women and children is also a major concern. Residents in these areas
have only three small hospitals to go for treatment — one each in
Pottery Town, DJ Halli and Kushalnagar — and staff have been told to
write about any issues concerning patient health care, he said. He also
said the BBMP will appoint more staff in these hospitals on a contract
basis.

He also visited the primary health centre in the area and
said the BBMP will upgrade the centre since the population around it was
big. “The Palike will set up 40 anganwadis along with the Department of
Women and Child Development on a 50:50 basis,” he added.

Dr
Sumithra, Medical Officer of Health in BBMP Hospitals said: “The Palike
had identified 486 malnourished children in the east zone, out of which
196 were identified as severely acute malnourished (SAM). These children
were treated at various anganwadis. At present, the Palike has 91 SAM
children and 38 moderately malnourished children. They are being
regularly monitored and given nutritional supplements.”

Local
corporator Sampath Raj linked the malnutrition and unhygienic living
conditions of residents to low budget and disparity in allocation of
funds. “More then `50 crore is required for the overall development of
these places. The commissioner has assured to take up these works on a
priority basis,” he added. Local MLA Akhanda Srinivas Murthy and others
were present.