Bahanaga: Notwithstanding crores of rupees being spent to improve infrastructure and services at Anganwadi centres, many such centres run without their own buildings in Bahanaga block of Balasore district while kids are taught under the open sky in some cases, a report said.
There are 249 Anganwadi centres in the block, but 179 of them do not have their own buildings.
With the monsoon around the corner, Anganwadi workers and guardians are worried about how their kids will be taught and food will be cooked. Locals alleged neither the child development project officer (CDPO) nor the block development officer (BDO) is bothered about this problem which in all likelihood will compound in the rainy season.
Anganwadi centres are the key to pre-schooling and supplementary nutrition programme for children and pregnant women. They also play a vital role in immunization programmes. The Central government has been providing crores of rupees every year, but it is a pity that scores of Anganwadi centres go without houses.
“When there are no buildings and no kitchens, where the kids will study and how food will be cooked,” said some locals of Kalyani Jenasahi.
The government usually provides Rs 5 lakh to Rs 6 lakh for a model Anganwadi centre. The block has 249 Anganwadi centres including big and small ones.
As many as 22 Anganwadis were built in 2011, 2012 and 2013 at a cost of Rs 1.25 lakh each. The remaining 227 Anganwadis had no buildings then. Building for 30 more Anganwadis were set up in 2015, 2016 and 2017. In these four years, the government had raised the cost to Rs 5 lakh each.
The block had received Rs 3.85 crore as grants. However, only Rs 1.64 crore has been spent.
What is surprising is that the block administration has claimed that buildings for 30 new Anganwadis were completed, but the women and child development department hinted that only 19 buildings were completed. It is alleged there is lack of coordination between the block administration and departmental officials.
The buildings of nine centres are lying incomplete while the condition of many buildings has started deteriorating for lack of further development.
CDPO Preetisudha Tripathy said Anganwadi buildings at Gandina, Abhana-3, Jiritala-1 and KC Pur have not been completed. As many as 197 Anganwadis have no buildings and kitchens, she added.
The construction work of buildings could not be carried out due to disputes at some places, the CDPO said.
BDO Umakant Nayak said many issues were sorted out and Anganwadi buildings were completed this current year.
He hoped that the disputes relating to sites will gradually be removed and work of the remaining buildings will be completed. PNN