Supplementary nutrition will be made to reach children in the age group of 6 months to 6 years, pregnant women, lactating mothers etc by personnel of aganwadi centres.

An office order to this effect has been issued on March 21 by the secretary department of woman, child development & social security Amitabh Kaushal.The secretary said, “All stakeholders should know that there is no shutdown of any anaganwadi centres in the State. Supplementary nutrition is non stoppable. It has to go to the beneficiaries. It will be reached through a fleet of anganwadi workers at their doorstep.”

Kaushal said this home reach supplementary nutrition will be till April 14 as we are reviewing the situation very minutely.  Fate of home reach supplementary nutrition will be decided only after the review of state health condition asserted the Secretary.He agreed facilities of pre-school education at these kendras have been disbanded for now.

 He said there are 37,821 aagan badi workers, 35,202 helpers and 9,577 are poshan sakhis in the State and this huge workforce can easily fork out to discharge more vital works now at this time when there is an alert of coronavirus.

He said there are 16,05,262 children in the age group of 6 months to 3 years, 10,93,139 children in the age group of 3 to 6 years, 33,30,09 pregnant women, 37,33,06 lactating mothers and malnourished children figure at 13,671 in the state who will be covered by our home reach supplementary nutrition. Reminded that the state government has ordered shut down of schools, colleges, gyms, clubs, cinema halls, malls etc but here personnel of aagan badi kendras have been kept too active with more equally precious jobs to be done Amitabh said “ There is Food Security Act.

The Apex Court watches it very closely. Aaganbadi kendras are the hub of supplementary nutrition. It cannot be so shut only the mode of giving supplementary nutrition has been broadened and widened where now a Kendra personnel is to traverse than beneficiary.”The Supreme Court in its order passed on March 18 has stated “ It is necessary that all the states should come out with a uniform policy to ensure ……. schemes for providing nutritional food to children and nursing and lactating mothers are not adversely affected.”