Just a few months back, two-year-old Vartika was unable to walk and weighed a mere 7.1 kg. Her fragile condition brought her to a Mini Nutritional Rehabilitation Centre (NRC) in Cholapur of Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh. About 15 days later, Vartika emerged from the centre with newfound vitality — walking, running, and even dancing.

“Her weight increased to 7.6 kg, but more importantly, she left with a smile on her face,” IAS officer Himanshu Nagpal tells The Better India.

A couple of years earlier, the crisis was clear: According to the 2019 National Family Health Survey (NFHS-5), Varanasi had one of the highest rates of Severe Acute Malnutrition (SAM) in the state. With 13.3 percent of its children aged zero to six classified as SAM, the gravity of the situation demanded urgent action.

Rising to the challenge, the district magistrate S Rajalingam and chief development officer Himanshu Nagpal spearheaded a ‘10-Point Kashi Strategy’ to tackle the crisis from multiple fronts.

Varanasi’s 10-point strategy

While the administration was already working to tackle malnutrition in the district, Himanshu would still see many malnourished children in Anganwadi centres during his field visits. “When the child is malnourished, their learning levels are low and leads to poor performance in schools and colleges throughout their lives. We accordingly found shortcomings and tried to work upon them,” he explains.