Ranchi: The ball has been set rolling to turn Karimati in Jaldega block of Simdega district - that had grabbed headlines following the alleged starvation death of 11-year-old Santoshi Kumari on September 28 - into a model village.
Prodded by chief minister Raghubar Das, Simdega DC Manjunath Bhajantri and SP Rajeev Ranjan Singh on Saturday held a meeting of the gram sabha to settle disagreements among the villagers and Santoshi's family over the cause of her death and step up the drive against illegal liquor business.
The villagers had called on CM Das at the main secretariat in Project Building on Friday to seek help in salvaging the image of the village, which they thought had taken a beating following Santoshi's death. They were told Karimati would be converted into a model village and asked about the support they expected from the state government for a decent living after their earnings from the illegal liquor business were stopped.
"The villagers, especially the women, took oath that they would not allow illegal liquor business to thrive in their village. We also made them talk face to face with Santoshi's mother Koyali Devi. The misunderstandings have been settled," Singh said.
Bhajantri said the villagers were enlightened on the importance of having nutritious food like, seasonal fruits and pulses. The health centre officials were asked to ensure that the villagers received medicines on time and complicated cases were promptly referred to the Sadar hospital. The villagers were also advised to send their children to schools regularly.
"The residents of the village will be given maximum job opportunities under MGNREGA and Clean India Mission. We will also give them necessary trainings and financial support in poultry farming, bee keeping, manufacturing bed sheets and towels. Basic amenities like roads, electric poles and hand pumps will be provided from the district's untied funds," Bhajantri said.
Santoshi's starvation death had caused a furore even as the official machinery maintained that she died of malaria. Inquiries revealed that her family was not getting PDS supplies for the last six months because their ration card was not linked to Aadhaar.
As political heavyweights and food activists started to make a beeline for Santoshi's place, agitated residents of Karimati allegedly compelled the deceased's family to flee their house for allegedly tarnishing the image of the village.The family returned home following the intervention of the district administration.
"I visited Santoshi's place on October 21 and spoke to her mother and sister. They told me that the girl had starved to death. But the villagers were taught by unidentified persons to tell outsiders that it wasn't a case of starvation death. During probes, the role of state chief secretary Rajbala Verma too came under cloud. The state government is trying to cover up its wrongdoings," Adivasi Sengel Abhiyan president Salkhan Murmu said.
