As much as 60 per cent of the population of Muslim-dominated Malegaon falls below the poverty line,says a 221-page report by the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS). Denied the most basic amenities,absence of adequate health facilities and almost zero per cent representation of Muslims in government jobs,Malegaon has been transformed into living hell,it says. The study,commissioned by the State Minorities Commission in 2010,was compiled and submitted to the commission earlier this year. Revealing the stark living conditions and underdevelopment in Malegaon,Abdul Shaban,an Associate Professor at TISS,in a report studying the socio-economic and infrastructural situation in Malegaon has laid bare the conditions in the communally sensitive town,which has also been seen bomb attacks in 2006 and 2008. As per the study,about 45.4 per cent of the total recorded deaths among Muslims have been of children aged below five years. The report concludes that these deaths are mainly linked to poverty. Looking at the death cases since 2001,the report says nearly 90 per cent of death of infants below one month,50 per cent of deaths in the age group of 2-12 months and majority of deaths in the age-group of 6-14 years is due to underweight and malnutrition. Due to the absence of alternative job opportunities,people are forced to work under such a condition and in return for wages as low as Rs 26 a day, it says. Per capita income of one third of the population dips to as low as Rs 500,says the study. Exposing the dearth of basic amenities,the report says,public toilets in a considerable part of the city are either not available or are in an unusable condition. The report comes exactly five years after the Sachar Committee revealed in 2006 similar findings about Muslims elsewhere in the country. The report was compiled to reflect on the need for implementation of recommendations made by the committee.
