With one more death on Sunday the toll due to malaria in Sidhi has increased to 70 and now neighbouring Mandsaur has also come under its grip. This is serious and unless the State Government takes steps to control it there are chances it may reach alarming proportions, writes Ritesh Mishra With the death of a tribal in Udaisa village on Sunday, the toll crossed 70 following the outbreak of malaria in Sidhi district last month. While Government sources put the figure at 40 but health workers of the district claimed that death toll had crossed 70. Most of the reported deaths are of the children, who have fallen victim to the apathy of the officials concerned. Residents of the area said that the situation was not under control and more villages were now in the tentacles of the menace. Kedar, an activist working on the health of tribals of Sidhi district says, "Malaria deaths are not new in the district. About three to four persons of each village of the district die due to malaria each year. But this year, surprisingly deaths have been reported in just 4 villages." He further said that what was more concerning now was that the tribals were in the debt trap as they were now reaching private hospitals for treatment. "Nearly all the deaths which occurred in Sidhi in the last few years were from Plasmodium Falciparum (PF) malaria , which is fatal, and all the concerning authorities know this very well but they have not taken appropriate steps on time," Kedar informed. Kedar further said that a negative malaria report was sent to the Health Department last year about the danger of malaria but the department was still sleeping. "Neither slides were made nor were insecticide-treated nets (ITNs) distributed. About 1,000 slides, which were made by the Health Department were claimed to be negative without any examination," he added. All the deaths reported in the district are of Gond tribals, who have been living in acute financial crisis and misery for ages. The four worst affected villages,- Chaupal, Pandari, Satnara nd Charki - are just few kilometres away from the district headquarters. Although, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan ordered the transfer of District Collector SN Sharma and the Civil Surgeon and Chief Medical Health Officer (CMHO) of the district but eyebrows have been raised on the working of the Heath Department. It is a surprising that how continuous deaths occurred for one month and why the 'effective' measures of the Health Department were not effective in the area. Talking about the reasons behind the deaths, tehsildar KP Pandey, who has been transferred now, said that it happened owing to the lack of medical facilities and crunch of staff. He further confirmed that a total of 13 girls had died in Chaupal village of the tehsil till now. "Only 20 per cent of staff is deployed here by the Health Department and the people are totally dependent on the district headquarters for heath facilities," Pandey said. A high-level officer posted in the district informed that health workers posted in the area have not informed the district headquarters in time about the deaths. "When the sarpanch of Chaupal village informed the higher officials about the deaths they didn't taken the issue seriously," he added. Every year nearly 300 people die owing to malaria in the district but the district administration was not prepared to check the spread of the disease. On the other hand, CPI(M) leader Badal Saroj claimed that the main reason behind the deaths of the children was malnutrition. Saroj further said that a party worker of the CPI(M) informed about the deaths on October 22 only but the District Collector responded ridiculously and said, " The world is an ocean of sorrow and everyone in this world is in sorrow whether he is a millionaire or a beggar" Meanwhile after the havoc in Sidhi district, the fatal disease has spread its tentacles to Mandaur district and has claimed lives in five villages. According to the reports about 18 children have reportedly died so far and hundreds have tested positive in the district. While the situation has become serious, the State Government has still not taken action against guilty health officials. Minister of State for Health Mahendra Hardia also visited the affected areas and patients admitted in Mandsaur district hospital on Saturday night. Four days ago, sarpanch of Navli Pathar village had given a list of 21 children to the administration stating that they had died of malaria. However, the administration, during verification, found that only two children died in the village, while the reasons behind the death of the others was different. District Collector Mahednra Gyani said that three medical teams were continuously attending to patients in eight-affected villages since November 1. Talking about the claims of Navli village sarpanch that 18 children had died in past three weeks, Gyanti said that he had personally examined all the cases and found that the deaths took place over a period of five to six months. "There was one death on November 29 and three on November 31, but that too cannot be termed as deaths due to malaria because their blood samples were not examined," he added. Now spreads to Rajasthan Reports suggested that some persons had also died in the adjacent Bhawani Mandi in Rajasthan. Sources claimed that with the situation deteriorating in the region, most of the people have started leaving their villages and were moving to neighbouring Rajasthan to escape the fatal disease. Till date 1,501 blood samples had been tested and 289 patients have been found positive. Out of them, 93 were found serious cases and they are being treated in district hospital, he added. Reasons for spread of disease The district administration had not taken the deaths seriously After umpteen attempts of a Sarpanch a team was sent Crunch of staff in the region made it very difficult to contain the situation A negative report was sent to the district headquarters from the ground level doctors that there was no danger of malaria in the region. Quacks were active in the region owing to the unavailability of the doctors.