Gandhinagar (press release): Chief Minister Vijay Rupani today called for implementing the Gujarat PoshanAbhiyan as a people’s movement to ensure not a single child in the Anganwadis remains malnourished in the state by next Republic Day on January 26, 2021.

Speaking to officials and office-bearers of the District, Municipal Corporations, Municipalities and Anganwadis of the state through videoconferencing in presence of Deputy Chief Minister Nitinbhai Patel, Mr. Rupani unveiled the roadmap for as many as 1,302 programmes to be launched from January 31 to February 1, 2020.

These programmes are to be launched in each of the 1,098 seats in district panchayats, in each of the 42 Vidhan Sabha seats in Municipal Corporations and one each in 162 Municipalities.

Rupani said that third party inspection will announce the best Anganwadi for best performance. The best Asha workers, Anganwadis workers and that under ANM will be presented first prize of Rs.12,000 and second prize of Rs.6,000.

He said that the movement against malnutrition should be taken up with priorityin the same spirit as implementation of the state government’s other two campaigns as people’s movements – ‘Shala Praveshotsav’ for enrolment in the schools and ‘KanyaKelavani’for girls education.

Rupani said social service is the society’s responsibility. At the government level, it is the responsibility of the entire administration and not just that of the Women and Child Welfare Ministry. The department’s budget has been increased to Rs.3,000-crore to provide iron-rich diet to adolescent girls, pregnant women and lactating mothers.

He said there are 35.62-lakh children in the 0-6 age group in over 53,000 Anganwadis in the state. He gave a slogan of ‘EkPalak, EkBalak’, asking different sections of the society, voluntary organisations and non-government organisations to take voluntarily the responsibility as a ‘foster parent’ of the most malnourished child. The ‘foster parent’ should go to an Anganwadi in his respective area and take the responsibility of the maintenance of the most malnourished child.

The event was connected with district and taluka panchayats and urban centres by BISEG.

– Information