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 a ‘living hell’, it adds.
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. The report is critical about the role played by the police force and says that the per capita income of one third of the population dips to as low as Rs 500.