India, Dec. 13 -- As many as 14,526 children aged below five died due to malnutrition in the last three years - 2022-23 to 2024-25 - in eight districts, including Mumbai, Pune, Nagpur and Amravati, in the state.

This was stated by the state government in the legislative assembly on Friday. The government also told the lower house that Covid-19 deaths between January and October 2025 rose to 46, against 35 deaths during the corresponding period last year.

In a written reply in the assembly, health minister Prakash Abitkar said that in Palghar, a tribal-dominated district, 303 children were found severely malnourished, while 2,663 were moderately malnourished, from the 1,34,362 children measured for weight and height.

"According to the U...