**Bhubaneswar:** The day Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik gave his reaction to media for the first time on Thursday on the sensitive malnutrition deaths in tribal-dominated Nagada village of Jajpur district, the State Team, led by Agriculture Secretary Manoj Ahuja, briefed media on Friday on its visit to the spot and review there on Thursday itself.
Ahuja informed that the state team led by a senior bureaucrat will henceforth visit the spot on weekly basis while district officials as decided earlier will be visiting on daily basis and submit developmental action taken report to the Central Range Revenue Divisional Commissioner (RDC). RDC will update the developments undertaken daily there to Development Commissioner here per week.
Narrating his experience there, Ahuja informed, “It took us about four hours to reach the spot on foot as the major problem is road connectivity and one has to trek a steep climb”.
“Since there is no mobile communication, one VHF set has already been installed at Nagada linked with Kaliapani Control Room and three more VHF sets to be set up in two to three days,” Ahuja said.
Survey for possible road connectivity, one from Deogaon in adjacent Dhenkanal district and another from the parent district headquarters town Jajpur has already started as the Rural Development (RD) engineer was in the state team, Ahuja informed.
He further informed that there are two inaccessible revenue villages (Nagada and Bhuiashal) and 5 hamlets in the forest area with 85 households residing in a tri-junction of adjoining three districts of Dhenkanal, Keonjhar and Jajpur.
The state team’s on-the-spot review revealed that already 24×7 4 health camps are in action at Nagada while NRC at Kaliapani of Tata Hospital where 25 malnourished children are undergoing treatment along with their mothers and necessary healthcare services are being provided. Community kitchen was also on.
One mini Anganwadi is already there, three more, total four Anganwadis are to be set up very soon there.
Ahuja also informed that supplementary food, take-home ration, SNF quotas have already been doubled while energy-rich nutrition food to reach by tomorrow (Saturday).
Besides, initiatives have already taken for drinking water facilities there and solar light to be provided to each household.