Patna: Chief minister Samrat Choudhary on Tuesday inaugurated the statewide ‘Aangan Ka Milan’ programme from an Anganwadi centre on the Phulwarisharif Higher Secondary School campus, as the initiative was held simultaneously at all 1,15,064 Anganwadi centres across the state.Accompanied by social welfare minister Shweta Gupta, Choudhary interacted with children, Anganwadi sevikas and sahayikas, beneficiaries of welfare schemes and local residents. He reviewed facilities at the centre and sought details of activities being conducted for children and mothers.Addressing the gathering, CM said the strength of society’s children would determine the strength of the state and the country. He said govt was focusing on regular supply of nutritious food, fruits and milk at Anganwadi centres, and stressed the need to ensure that young children remain connected with the centres and receive adequate nutrition.Choudhary said steps would be taken to construct buildings for Anganwadi centres that currently function without their own premises. He said public welfare schemes being implemented under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and former CM Nitish Kumar were being taken forward, with the aim of ensuring that all eligible beneficiaries receive their entitlements.Appealing to Anganwadi workers to bring all small children in villages into the centre-based system, he said govt’s objective was to keep mothers and children healthy while providing quality early education and nutrition. Around 1,15,000 Anganwadi sevikas and sahayikas are engaged in serving children and families across the state, he said.CM urged beneficiaries and local people to send suggestions to govt on improving services at Anganwadi centres. He said such feedback was important and govt would take every possible step to improve facilities for mothers and children before and after delivery as needed.
