‘27,916 Anganwadi centres in Odisha lack own buildings’

Bhubaneswar: As many as 27,916 Anganwadi centres in the State do not have own buildings, informed Women and Child Development Minister Tukuni Sahu in the State Assembly today.

In reply to a query asked by BJP MLA from Nabarangpur, Nityananda Gonda, the Minister said 72,587 Anganwadi centres are functioning in the State. Of them, 44,671 centres are operating from their own buildings. She further claimed that no Anganwadi centre has dilapidated building and those which were damaged have been relocated to safer places earlier. At present, buildings of 10,445 Anganwadi centres are under-construction, she added.

Answering to a query asked by Opposition Chief Whip Mohan Majhi on malnutrition, Tukuni said 21,901 severely underweight babies have been reported in the State till October 2019 whereas a total of 3,75,196 underweight babies were counted during the period. In Keonjhar, the highest 1,732 babies were found to be severely underweight and 37,269 babies were reported as underweight.

The Minister further said in Kalahandi, 2,066 babies were severely underweight and 21,324 babies were reported as underweight.

Around 41% mothers in the State are suffering from malnutrition in the State with a maximum of 45.9% malnourished cases being reported from Malkangiri, said the Minister.