Jhumpura: The children of an Anganwadi centre at Gumura panchayat under Jhumpura block in Keonjhar district are forced to take their classes at the dilapidated house of a worker due to the lack of a proper building for the centre, local residents alleged.
The centre was opened at the tribal-dominated Gumura village in 2007. The government appointed workers and helpers for the welfare of children in the area but the construction of the building hasn’t yet completed, locals pointed out.
With the delay in construction of the building, the children are taking lessons at the dilapidated house of Dalimba Nayak, an Anganwadi helper.
Besides, the meals are being cooked and served to the children under open sky, raising health issues.
The situation gets even worse during the rainy season because children would have to stop going to the centre. It is difficult to cook food openly during the rainy season, the locals pointed out.
There are 20 children at the centre and most of them have stopped going to the unit.
Tapaswini Patra, an Anganwadi worker, said, “There is nothing in our hand. Anyhow we are running the centre. We are forced to run the centre at our houses because the construction of the building hasn’t yet completed.”
The attempts to contact Sulata Nayak, child development officer of Jhumpura block, have failed.
Meanwhile, the newly-appointed Jhumpura BDO Jayashree Behera said they will initiate necessary steps to resolve the issue.
PNN
