A Study on the Health and Nutritional Status of Tribal Women in Godam Line Village of Phansidewa Block in Darjeeling District

Indian tribals are a heterogeneous group; most of them remain at the lowest stratum of the society due to various factors like geographical and cultural isolation, low levels of literacy, primitive occupations, and extreme levels of poverty. The present paper attempts to study the health problems of the tribal women in Godam Line Village of Phansidewa Block of Darjeeling District in West Bengal. A total of 50 tribal women, of which 40% fell in the 2140 years age group while the rest (60%) between 41-60 years, were interviewed using schedule. 80% of them are engaged as tea workers. Out of all diseases they suffer from, the predominant one is the group of enteric diseases. Water borne disease remains a major public health problem in the tea-gardens of North Bengal. They drank water from well which often remained precarious leading to contamination of pathogens from diverse sources including soil and seepage of sewage water. The study suggests immediate interventions for improving water quality and in reducing outbreaks of waterborne diseases in tea gardens.