Bhubaneswar: In a significant step towards strengthening rural infrastructure for women and child welfare, Deputy Chief Minister Pravati Parida on Tuesday virtually inaugurated 491 newly-constructed Anganwadi centres across Odisha.
Emphasising their role as the “cornerstone of grassroots development”, Parida highlighted the government’s commitment to sustainable rural progress through enhanced facilities at these vital community hubs. She stressed the priority given to equipping Anganwadi centres with essential amenities such as proper sanitation, toilets, safe drinking water, electricity, and nutrition gardens. “Strengthening Anganwadi infrastructure is key to empowering rural communities and ensuring better health and education outcomes for children,” she remarked.
Minister of Rural Development, Panchayati Raj & Drinking Water Rabi Narayan Nayak echoed these sentiments, describing the centres as integral to the vision of a “Viksit Gaan, Viksit Odisha” (Developed Village, Developed Odisha). He noted that women’s health, early childhood education, and child development heavily rely on high-quality infrastructure at these grassroots-level facilities.
The inauguration ceremony was held at the conference hall of the Department of Women and Child Development, attended by senior officials, including Principal Secretary Shubha Sharma and Commissioner-cum-Secretary Girish S N. District officials, including collectors, child development project officers, and Anganwadi workers, participated virtually from across Odisha.
Among the 491 new centres, the highest of 111 are in Ganjam district, followed by Balasore (63), Bargarh (36), Jagatsinghpur (34), Bhadrak (28), Cuttack (24), Puri (24), Khurda (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) and one each in Malkangiri and Rayagada.
According to the Women and Child Development Department, this marks the second phase of an ongoing initiative, bringing the total strengthened centres to 1,404. The first phase saw 913 centres being inaugurated in September. These efforts align with broader state goals to upgrade Anganwadi services, providing critical support for nutrition, pre-school education, and health services in rural areas.
