Koraput: The Koraput administration has decided to establish Aahar centres at all panchayat-level community and primary health centres under the Odisha government’s food subsidization programme.
Aahar centres are already functional in Koraput and Jeypore headquarters hospitals and are providing food at subsidised rates to patients and their visitors.
Currently, 51 PHCs and 16 CHCs are running across the district. The Aahar centres will first be opened in the CHCs and later initiated in the PHCs. The panchayats of the respective areas in coordination with the administration will provide the funds, sources said.
During the Mission Shakti meeting, Koraput collector Abdaal M Akhtar also informed that these centres at PHCs and CHCs will be run by the women’s self-help groups.
Notably, the Aahar programme was launched on April 1, 2015. Housing and Urban Development Department is the nodal department and the objective is to provide cooked hot meals – steamed rice and dalma- to the poor and needy at Rs. 5.
