Two more kids die of cold in Uttar Pradesh relief camps

The Uttar Pradesh government’s tall claims of providing quick medical care to the displaced riot victims in the relief camps turned out to be far from the truth as two more children have died from cold.

Two children, including a new born, fell prey to cold at Malakpur relief camp in Shamli district in the past 36-hours, according to reports, which said a four-year-girl had died at the Malakpur camp on Tuesday. She had been under treatment for the past few days for cold.

Before that, a new born had also died from cold in the same camp on Monday night.

Another infant had died at Kandhla in the district on Friday. The infant's parents, who had been living at a relief camp before being evicted, had shifted to a makeshift hut nearby.

With the two deaths, the total number children who died from cold at the relief camps in Muzaffarnagar and Shamli districts has risen to 36. Of these, 14 died in the relief camps and the remaining died at different hospitals where they were taken by their family members for treatment.

The biting cold wave that has been sweeping the state has turned the relief camps into virtual graveyards, especially for the children and older people. The recent rains have only compounded the woes of the displaced riot victims. Many tents have been uprooted by the strong winds which accompanied the rains, forcing the riot victims to spend their days in the open, in the biting cold.

There were also reports that many children have fallen sick owing to the cold at relief camps in riot-hit Muzaffarnagar and Shamli districts. Around half a dozen children have fallen sick because of the cold at the makeshift relief camp at Parsauli, where hundreds of displaced riot victims had taken shelter after being evicted from Loi in Muzaffarnagar district.