Doctors get free-stay in hotels to combat malnutrition in Karjat
What's the story
District Collector of Maharashtra's Raigad, Dr. Vijay Suryawanshi, has mooted a novel idea to rope in doctors to combat the menace of malnutrition in tribal areas of Karjat tehsil on weekends by offering them "free stay" in local hotels.
The concept originated after a girl died due to malnutrition at Morewadi in Nov'17; it was tried in Matheran hill station region.
Here's more.
Shortage of doctors
Karjat, with 2 lakh population, faces perennial shortage of doctors
Karjat tehsil is a "weekend getaway" destination where a number of celebrities also have their farmhouses.
The area, which is equidistant from Mumbai and Pune, has seen a rise in malnutrition cases but it faces a perennial shortage of specialist doctors to cater to its over 2 lakh population.
To combat malnutrition, hotel associations also agreed to provide free rooms to doctors, said Suryawanshi.
Fighting malnutrition
90 VCDCs to be launched to fight malnutrition
In February this year, Suryawanshi convened a meeting of senior health officials and directed that 90 Village Child Development Centre (VCDCs) be launched in the Karjat tehsil to fight malnutrition.
An NGO, which works in Raigad district in the field of maternal and infant mortality, has also asked doctors from Mumbai and Pune to volunteer to spend a weekend serving people in Karjat.