Increasing childbirths a problem in cantonments

BY MOHAN BUDHAAIR

KAILALI, Aug 24 - The increasing numbers of pregnant women combatants and their newborn at the Maoist cantonments here in Kailali district have recently thrown up the problem of health and nutrition of both mothers and babies. The combatants demand that the party for which they ...

"As the birth rate is surging of late, the Maoist combatants management secretariat alone cannot shoulder the expenses for the children," said Suresh Singh Pahadi, commander of the Lokesh Memorial Brigade of the Maoist Seventh Division. "The situation requires that one look for NGOs to bring up the children inside the camps.

The Rs 3,000 monthly salary and ration allowances of Rs 60 per day provided by the government are too meager to cover the expenses of the nursing mothers and infants, the combatants said.

According to Pahadi, over 60 woman combatants in the Lokesh Memorial Brigade at Chisapani have given birth while an equal number of others are now pregnant. Over 700 woman combatants are livings with their spouces in the three cantonments of the Seventh Division.

A total of 300 pregnant women combatants and the same number of nursing mothers and children are satying at the Sahajpur, Badipur and Talbanda cantonments.

"As we got married inside the cantonments and the children were born here too, the responsibility of bringing up the children should be taken up by the party," said Maoist combatant Jharna, who gave birth to a baby boy a few weeks ago. "As we are of the party so are our children.

According to combatants, many nursing mothers and infants have been suffering from malnutrition.