On the International Yoga Day, Modi who performed yoga, along with around 30,000 people at Ranchi addressed the participants saying ‘Poor people suffer more from diseases and it makes them poorer... Yoga is a medium to come out from poverty.’ Great message! But I was just wondering if his advice could be of any help to the children who are dying in Muzaffarpur due to poverty and dismal state of health service in Bihar (“Human skeletons found in Muzaffarpur,” June 23, Gulf Today).

Since the outbreak of AES more than 140 children have lost their lives and we are yet to see the Prime Minister make a visit there. Probably he won’t because he sent the health minister Harsh Vardhan to visit the hospital where children have been dying. And as media reports say the minister is keeping the PM updated.

Ironically even the Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar is believed to have made a visit after 14 days of the tragedy.  It’s sad, isn’t it, to see our children die because of government apathy. Unfortunately some of the people, who brought Modi to power by a huge mandate, are today left to fend for themselves and their children.

There are multiple reports in mainstream media highlighting that the children lost their lives due to unavailability of medicines, proper care and lack of intensive care units in the area. And yet the same situation persists. In fact I chanced upon an article which stated that data analysis of World Health Organisation, World Bank and Unicef reports shows that most African countries perform better than Muzaffarpur when it comes to nutrition of child and mother. Need I say more?

Ravi Menon

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