Bhubaneswar, December 24: Deputy Chief Minister Pravati Parida on Wednesday inaugurated as many as 491 newly constructed Anganwadi centres in the State through video conferencing in the presence of Panchayati Raj & Drinking Water and Rural Development Minister Rabi Narayan Naik here.
Highest 111 Anganwadi centres were inaugurated in Ganjam district followed by Balasore (63), Bargarh (36), Jagatsinghpur (34), Bhadrak (28), Cuttack (24), Puri (24), Khordha (23), Jajpur (20), Kendrapada (19), Koraput (18), Kandhamal (16), Nayagarh (14), Subarnapur (11), Gajapati (10), Sambalpur (9), Balangir (7), Angul (6), Keonjhar (5), Sundargarh (4), Nabarangpur (3), Nuapada (2), Dhenkanal (2), Malkangiri (1) and Rayagada (1).
According to the Department of Women and Child Development, a total of 1,404 Anganwadi Centres have been strengthened in two phases so far. In the first phase, 913 Anganwadi Centres were inaugurated in September, while 491 Centres were inaugurated today in the second phase.
Speaking on the occasion, Deputy CM Parida, who also holds the Women and Child Development portfolio, said that the Government has given special emphasis to empowering Anganwadi Centres by providing essential facilities such as sanitation, toilets, safe drinking water, electricity supply and nutrition gardens.
Minister Rabi Narayan Naik described Anganwadi Centers as an integral part of the vision of “Viksit Gaan, Viksit Odisha.”
He emphasised that women’s health, early childhood education and overall development of children depend significantly on the quality of infrastructure available at Anganwadi Centres.
The programme was attended by W&CD Secretary Shubha Sharma, Panchayati Raj & Drinking Water Secretary Girish S. N., W&CD Director Monisha Banerjee, and Panchayati Raj & Drinking Water Director Siddharth Shankar Swain, along with senior departmental officials.
District Collectors, Additional District magistrate, Chief Executive Officers, District Social Welfare Officers, Child Development Project Officers and Anganwadi Workers from all districts joined the programme virtually.
