Anganwadi centres cornerstone of grassroots development: Parida

Bhubaneswar, Dec 24 (PTI) Anganwadi centres are the cornerstone of grassroots development, and strengthening their infrastructure is essential for sustainable rural development, Odisha Deputy Chief Minister Pravati Parida said here on Wednesday.

Parida made the remark while inaugurating 491 Anganwadi centres in different parts of the state, in the presence of Panchayati Raj and Drinking Water Minister Rabi Narayan Naik.

Parida said the state government is firmly committed to reinforcing village-level development by focusing on robust Anganwadi infrastructure.

She further said the government has given special emphasis on empowering Anganwadi centres by providing essential facilities such as sanitation, toilets, safe drinking water and electricity supply.

Naik 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 highest number of Anganwadi centre buildings was inaugurated in Ganjam (111), followed by Balasore (63), Bargarh (36), Jagatsinghpur (34), Bhadrak (28), Cuttack (24), Puri (24), Khurda (23), and Jajpur (20). The remaining buildings were inaugurated in 16 other districts.

According to officials, 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 on Wednesday in the second phase. PTI BBM BBM ACD