51% kids underweight, 68% women anaemic, LWE hit Kondagaon seeks healing, not just politics

Aditi Tandon

Advertisement

Kondagaon (Chhattisgarh), November 1

“We need healing, not just politics,” says Tikesh Sahu, a resident of left wing extremism hit Kondagaon tribal seat in Bastar, where young children are reeling under severe malnutrition and women under severe anaemia.

The latest round of National Family Health Survey reveals that 51 % of the district’s children (under five) are underweight against an average of 38 % in Chhattisgarh and 36 % nationally. Likewise, 68 % women of Kondagaon are anaemic compared to 47 % in Chhattisgarh and 53 % in India.

Located in the southern part of Chhattisgarh on the northern Bastar plateau, the segment is witnessing a close contest between BJP’s national vice president Lata Usendi and former state Congress chief Mohan Markam, a sitting minister.

Tribal stalwart and ex minister Usendi, who won here in 2003 and 2008, is queering the pitch for Markam, a MLA of two terms, 2013 and 2018. Markam is facing a tough challenge with locals also pointing to possibilities of internal sabotage to his prospects.

“Markam does not get along well with Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel and was recently replaced as state unit chief. Internal friction of the Congress can harm him here,” says a local Congress strategist.

Meanwhile, conscious of the area’s alarmingly low human development indicators, both candidates are promising holistic development of Kondagaon, one of India’s 112 aspirational districts and one of Chhattisgarh’s ten.

“The district also has a massive mental health burden due to a trail of trauma and tragedy left behind by long years of LWE,” says Rakesh Chopra, a local shopkeeper, adding that politicians must address socio-economic issues in campaign messages rather than just blame each other.

Data show a whopping 83.7 % of the population of the district below the poverty line, revealing the challenges for anyone who seeks to represent it.

BJP’s Usendi is focusing her campaign on “aspirations” by citing Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s “Sabka Saath Sabka Vikas” promise and is gaining traction.

Markam is meanwhile hammering Congress’ freebies including another farm loan waiver and higher MSP for paddy and minor forest produce if re-elected. The Congress hopes its pledges will impress Kondagaon where 70 % population is tribal and 90 % rural.

Locals meanwhile seek greater opportunities for income generation.

“Currently Kondagaon people depend completely on forest and agriculture for livelihood and there are no industries here,” says Uma Mandavi, a local.

A recent research called for an urgent mental wellness programme for the area, citing a huge mental health burden on account of a chronic cycle of LWE violence. The area has witnessed deaths of several uniformed personnel and civilians in attacks by armed Naxals. Until June 2021 Kondagaon was one of India’s 35 Most LWE Affected Districts until it was moved to the “Districts of Concern” category.