Cuttack, July 19: A public interest petition filed in Orissa High Court has pleaded that the authorities should be allowed to provide services to children and women under the Integrated Child Development Scheme (ICDS) after safety norms are fulfilled at anganwadi centres.
The scheme, through the network of anganwadi centres, addresses issues such as health, immunisation, nutrition, health education, supplementary nutrition programme and pre-school education for children and women.
“In spite of it, the government in the state is closing its eyes for the infrastructural development of anganwadi centres. It is a matter of great concern as its consequence was evident from the tragic incident in which seven children were killed after the collapse of the wall of the anganwadi centre at Nelia Upper Primary School at Suansia Sahi under Ranpur block in Nayagarh district on July 9,” the PIL stated.
The division bench of Chief Justice V. Gopala Gowda and Justice S.K. Mishra, before which the PIL of Committee for Legal Aid to Poor (CLAP) came up for admission on Wednesday, has posted the matter to be heard along with a similar petition filed in the court.
“The court issued notices to the state government to file a reply within one week. Among those issued notices included commissioner-cum-secretary of women and child welfare department, commissioner-cum-secretary of school and mass education department and collector of Nayagarh,” said human rights activist and advocate Prabir Kumar Das, who had filed the other PIL.
“It is highly shocking that the building of the Nelia Upper Primary School, where the tragic incident occurred was constructed in 1939 and declared unsafe, was allowed to be used as anganwadi centre. Though incessant rain is cited as a reason for the collapse of the wall it cannot be denied that the dilapidated building should not have been allowed for running the anganwadi centre ignoring the safety norms,” Das said, while seeking criminal proceedings against the officials found guilty after inquiry.
HIV issue
A PIL filed in Orissa High Court has sought direction to the state government to take immediate steps to make available the test facility for detection of HIV during window period in all the blood banks.
The three-month span following the infection of an individual to develop detectable antibodies is called window period.
The two-judge bench of Chief Justice V. Gopala Gowda and Justice S.K. Mishra, before which the PIL of human rights activist and advocate Prabir Kumar Das, came up for admission today, has issued notices, seeking clarification from the Odisha government within two weeks.
The PIL contended: “People of the state are being exposed to fatal risk of getting HIV infected during blood transfusion as all the 57 blood banks in the state run by the Odisha government and Red Cross Society are supplying blood without conducting the antizen test through Polymer Chain Reaction (PCR) method to detect infection during window period.”
Without the special antizen test through PCR method the virus cannot be identified.
The PCR method, which is already being adopted by many states, significantly reduces the chance of contamination and increases safety of blood transfusion.
“In a case of HIV infection of a 17-month-old child by obtaining blood from Municipal Hospital in Bhubaneswar, Orissa High Court on July 28 last year had awarded compensation to the parents of the infected child and directed the state to ensure PCR method test facility in all the blood banks to identify HIV during window period. But, Odisha is yet to implement the direction,” the petition alleged.
Citing an incident of a 22-year-old woman getting infected with HIV after undergoing transfusion of blood supplied by a blood bank, the petitioner has sought direction to the Odisha government to pay compensation of Rs 10 lakh.
