Thirty-four children die in Muzaffarnagar relief camps
28 Dec BBC
At least 34 children have died in relief camps set up for thousands
of people who fled their homes during Hindu-Muslim clashes in the
northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh in September, an official report
says.
Officials have denied media reports that most of the children died of
cold.They say the children died of pneumonia and dysentery, among other
ailments.Sixty-five people died in the clashes in September. The riots
were described as the worst in India in a decade.
Thousands of people fled their homes in the town of Muzaffarnagar
after the violence which was sparked by the killing of three men who had
objected to the harassment of a young woman.A report by a government
appointed panel said at least 34 children, aged below 12, had died in
the relief camps.
There were reports in the Indian media that many of these children
had died of severe cold.
The cause of the death of all these children is different with about
four dying because of pneumonia while some others died because of
dysentery and one due to premature birth,” a senior official of Uttar
Pradesh state, AK Gupta, told reporters.He said most of the children who
died “had been taken outside the camps for treatment by their parents or
were referred to government hospitals for treatment”.
The report also said that 4,783 people were still living in five
relief camps in Muzaffarnagar and Shamli districts.
At least 85 people were injured in September's rioting. The clashes
also left more than 50,000 people, mostly Muslims, homeless.
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