Mumbai, Jan 27 (UNI) The Bombay High Court on Thursday directed the Maharashtra government to forthwith start providing cooked nutritious food to the children, pregnant women and lactating mothers of Melghat, the tribal region in the state, where there have been thousands of deaths due to malnutrition. The court also suggested to the state to look out for some alternative works for the tribal people of Melghat so that they do not migrate outside the region, which results in them getting deprived of government-run schemes. A division bench of Chief Justice Dipankar Datta and Justice Makarand Karnik gave direction during the hearing of a bunch of petitions highlighting the issue of continuous deaths of children, pregnant women and lactating mothers in the tribal region owing to malnutrition. Advocate General Asutosh Kombhkoni submitted a detailed plan for the welfare and rehabilitation of the tribals in this region. After perusing the same, the bench adjourned the matter till the last week of February with a directive to the state to come up with its long-term plans within a period of two months. UNI AAA SS 1836