Adopt an anganwadi scheme: MP CM walks with handcart collecting toys, books; gets Rs 8.5 cr cheque from people

(Eds: Adds details of amount collected during drive) (Adding a para) Indore, May 31 (PTI) Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Tuesday moved with a handcart on a stretch of road in Indore collecting toys, books and other items related to children in order to give the Anganwadi system a boost through people's participation.

Chouhan said people had handed him a cheque of Rs 8.5 crore during the drive.

Chouhan walked some 800 metres starting from Lodhipura as part of his government's 'Adopt an Anganwadi' scheme, with the drive garnering good response from people, including some children who handed over their piggy bank amounts, eyewitnesses and officials said.

"It troubles me that children in anganwadis are malnourished and it is the duty of the government to remove malnourishment. But it is also necessary to associate society with the drive in order to provide proper diet and essential infrastructure," Chouhan said.

He said opposition parties may be making fun of his drive but he wasn't worried, as the aim was to ensure the process of making anganwadi malnourishment-free becomes a people's movement.

Chouhan asked people to celebrate birthdays, anniversaries and other special occasions by distributing milk, fruits and nutritious food at anganwadis. The 'Adopt an Anganwadi' drive began on May 24. PTI HWP MAS BNM BNM