Sanjeev Murmu, a stunted child of about 3years at Sisu Hatting near Nalco Nagar of Angul has been suffering from diarrhoea and respiratory disease for a long period. In this condition, still he eats fermented water rice "Basi Pakhal " and "ambula khata". Sanjeev, son of Lucky and Neha Murmu, suffers from several chronic diseases the whole of the year, told his mother.
Migrated from Mayurbhanj , Lucky and Neha are staying on a canal bank in a thatched house along with other 80 migrant families for last 20 years. They are working as labourers with a contractor, engaged by Nalco.
Rapid industrialisation and mining activities attract these migrant labourers to Angul and subsequently stay permanently here. The Sisu Hatting, a slum in Nalco, lacks sanitation and hygiene and is prone to several diseases. About 20 children in the Sisu Hatting are presently suffering from various diseases due inadequate food intake and infections.
Undernutrition in the tribal children sets very early in life. Children of displaced and migrant working tribal parents are the worst suffers as food, feeding and care is neglected as tribal women work away from home for long hours. Stunting in the children of this slum is rampant due to chronic undernutrition, with irreversible, profound and lifelong consequences.
There are about 36 industrial slums near various aluminium plants, power plants, steel plants and coal mines of Angul. Around 30,000 labourers, mostly ST people who migrated from various parts of the State and country, are staying in these unauthorised slums for last 20 to 30 years. Most of the development schemes of the Government as well as CSR schemes of companies do not reach this vast workforce.
An Anganwadi Kendra is almost 2 km away from the Sisu Hatting and the inhabitants are rarely getting benefits out of it. The Nalco hospital is almost inaccessible to these poor families. Most of the slum dwellers are deprived of various Government schemes like supplementary nutrition programme and Mamata programme. The CSR activities and benefits of the industrial houses are rarely reaching to these slums.
"When we took our children to our workplaces, they would get injured, feel hungry and uncomfortable due to heat. Our children got malnourished as we couldn’t give them nutritious food. All our savings were spent on buying medicines, because our children would fall ill quite often,” says Balhi Soren of Sisu Hatting. 40-year-old Balhi is a tribal working women. Like other working tribal women, she more often than not took her children with her to work. On some days, they were left behind at home to be taken care of by the siblings while she worked in fields.
Inaccessible to proper health service and exposed to severe pollution of industries and mines of Angul , most of the slum children are suffering from bronchial pneumonia, which often occurs among malnourished children. While authorised habitation is not ensured to the vast migrant work force at Angul, they are allowed to low cost unhygienic habitation and lifestyle and deprived of Government schemes leading to rampant malnutrition.