Deputy CM Pravati Parida inaugurates 491 Anganwadi Centres across Odisha

Bhubaneswar: Anganwadi Centres are the cornerstone of grassroots development, and strengthening their infrastructure is essential for sustainable rural development, said Deputy Chief Minister Pravati Parida today.

Parida said this while inaugurating 491 newly-constructed Anganwadi Centres across the state on virtual mode. She stated that the Odisha government is firmly committed to reinforcing village-level development by focusing on robust Anganwadi infrastructure.

Panchayati Raj and Drinking Water Minister Rabi Narayan Nayak was also present on the occasion.

“The state 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,” stated the Deputy Chief Minister.

Speaking on the occasion, the Panchayati Raj Minister 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.

Highest number of Anganwadi Centres inaugurated in Ganjam

The programme was attended by Shubha Sharma, Principal Secretary, Women and Child Development Department, Girish S. N. Commissioner-cum-Secretary, Panchayati Raj & Drinking Water Department, Monisha Banerjee Director, Women and Child Development, Siddharth Shankar Swain, Director, Panchayati Raj & Drinking Water Department and senior officials of the state government.

District Collectors, Additional District magistrates, chief executive officers, District Social Welfare Officers, Child Development Project Officers and Anganwadi Workers from all districts joined the programme virtually.

District-wise, the highest number of Anganwadi Centers were inaugurated in Ganjam district (111), 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 on Wednesday in the second phase.