Mizoram CM expresses concern over rising deaths among young men

Mizoram Chief Minister Lalduhoma on Thursday expressed concern over the rising number of deaths of young men in the state. 

He said massive efforts should be made to address the issue and ameliorate the increasing death rate.

"Many graves belonging to young and middle-aged men could be seen in cemeteries across the state," the CM said.

"I conducted a self-study and research on the increasing number of such deaths, and discovered that seven young men die as against every young female death," he added.

Lalduhoma said that as a result of this, there are a large number of young widows in the state who do not have proper means of living. "A collective effort should be made to tackle this. The fight should start from every household or family," he said. 

Lalduhoma, 76, was addressing the general body meeting of the Former Legislators' Association of Mizoram (FLAM) in Aizawl. Though there is no official data, the deaths among young men are attributed to the consumption of spurious liquor and drugs. 

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Mizoram, whose 87 per cent population are Christian, is a dry state. 

The CM also said that many development projects undertaken by the previous governments are useless or sub-standard. 

He said his government has constituted a State Project Monitoring Committee to ensure these projects are properly executed. Lalduhoma lauded the former MLAs for setting a precedent for maintaining decorum in the House, which he said the present legislators continue to uphold. 

Established in 1994, FLAM at present has 117 members and 59 associate members, comprising the widows of deceased former MLAs and MPs.