Catholic Bishops' Conference of India

6,000 Violence-Affected Children Taken Ill in Assam

05 August,2012

Guwahati: Nearly 6,000 children are reported sick in the relief camps set up after the ethnic clashes in Assam.

According to the state government, three fourth of more than 8,000 children in relief camps are sick.

The government said that the medical emergency is due to overcrowding in the camps.

Earlier, two people, including a two-year-child, had died at the relief camps. People at these camps have reportedly complained about insufficient food, drinking water and medicines.

According to reports, there are just above 100 doctors to attend to the 350,000 people in the camps.

Clashes between indigenous Bodo tribesmen and Muslim settlers from neighboring West Bengal and Bangladesh last month killed some 60 people and rendered more than 400,000 homeless who are in 235 relief camps.

People in the Kokrajhar, Chirang and Dhubri districts in the state were affected in the violence.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who visited relief camps in Korajhar, had announced a relief package of 3 billion rupees.

Source: www.ndtv.com