New Delhi: Most children in the small village of 2000 people, Semra Manik Chak, located in the Gorakhpur district in Uttar Pradesh are born with hearing, sight or physical disability. Some have even died in the womb of their mothers.
"Some of the children cannot hear after their birth, some die in the womb of their mothers and some become physically challenged," said a resident of the village, Dulari Devi.
"There are no proper facilities, otherwise there would not have problem. There are no proper medical facilities and about dozens of children are physically challenged," said Ram Badan Prajapati from the village.
Medical experts say deficiency of minerals in the women during pregnancy and childbirth may have lead to birth of physically challenged children. There may also be genetic problems, which need to be tested.
"The reason why children are handicapped is 20 years ago the soil of Purvanchal had iodine deficiency and so most of the women and children have developed goiter. But since it's a particular village, the main reason is deficiency of minerals,” said gynecologist Anju Mishra.
According to UNICEF, out of 26 million children born in India every year, as many as 12 million are unprotected against Iodine Deficiency Disorders (IDD), such as irreversible brain damage, deaf- mutism, dwarfism and severely depleted levels of productivity.
Till the issue is seriously addressed by the local administration, villages like Semra Manik Chak will continue to bear children with physical disabilities.
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