SHILLONG, Nov 8 ? Malnutrition was ?rather high? in Meghalaya with about 37.9 per cent of the children below three years being moderately underweight and 11.3 per cent severely underweight, a study has said. The study undertaken by the MS Swaminathan Research Foundation of Chennai said infant mortality rate was also high at 39 deaths per 1000 children in Meghalaya compared to 16.3 per 1000 in Kerala.
It said about 64 per cent of the households did not have access to safe drinking water. Toilet facilities were not very good even in urban areas of the state. Due to lack of potable water, diarrhoeal diseases posed a major problem to the populace. Land degradation and lack of vegetative cover could be the main reason for drinking water problems, the study said suggesting measures like thick forest cover to help pure and plentiful water.
The study, which was undertaken under the ?Mission 2007 initiative for hunger-free India?, said about 33.87 per cent of the population in Meghalaya lived below the poverty line. About 27.01 pc of the agricultural workers were labourers. Of the total agricultural labour, female agricultural labour constituted about 48 pc as per the 2001 census. Agriculture is the mainstay of the people of the state.