A minor girl died due to starvation

Uttarakhand, April 18: The death of a minor girl allegedly due to starvation at Khajurani village of Dwarahat in Almora district, sparked off a political war of words after BJP MLA from Dwarahat Mahesh Negi put up a post on his Facebook account on Sunday.

"It is truly sad that in today's day and age, a person has to die of starvation. Yesterday (April 15), I came to know of the death of 17-year-old Sarita in such circumstances. I immediately spoke with CM Trivendra Rawat and apprised him of the matter and also sent a fax to him. He assured me that he will take prompt action. I hope that we are able to solve the problem of starvation from its roots," Negi wrote.

Opposition Congress was quick to condemn the incident blaming the BJP government for the alleged starvation death. Terming the death as a "blot on the face of devbhoomi Uttarakhand", state Congress chief Kishore Upadhyay accused the state government of being "indifferent to the plight of the poor."

"The poor are not getting the pension in the state and are dying of starvation. The government should pay attention to it. It is all the more worrisome as the starvation death has been reported from the home district of heavyweights like state BJP chief Ajay Bhatt and minister of state for child and women welfare Rekha Arya," Upadhyay said.

He demanded immediate financial assistance for the family besides personally extending an assistance of Rs 21,000 to the girl's kin.