Coronavirus: Karnataka govt orders door-delivery of food to 35 lakh anganwadi kids

The shut down of anganwadis will not affect over 35 lakh underprivileged children as they will now get the food delivered to their home from Saturday.

The state government has declared indefinite closure of anganawadis to curb spread of Covid-19. In a circular, the Department of Women and Child Development directed the district-level officials on Friday evening, “to deliver the ingredients to prepare food which includes groceries to the doors of beneficiaries.”

This is to ensure that anganwadi children would consume nutritious food even during the extended vacation. Speaking about the initiative, Minister for Women and Child Development Shashikala Jolle said, “It is our responsibility to ensure that children get nutritious food on time. As the anganawadi centres are closed until further orders, we have taken a decision to deliver groceries and other ingredients to the beneficiaries.”

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Earlier, the department thought of cooking the food at the respective anganawadi centres and deliver the same to home or ask parents to collect the same. But later it decided to deliver rice and other groceries at their doorstep.

The department has now adopted the model initiated by the Kerala government. Following the closure of the anganawadis, the Kerala government had taken a decision to deliver the ingredients to cook food at home. The same model has now been followed by state department of Women and Child Welfare.

In Karnataka, over 35 lakh children depend on the anganawadis. The anganwadi workers estimate the quantity of food consumed by the children and handover the same to the beneficiaries at their doorstep.

Following the move by the anganwadis, many parents urged the Department of Primary and Secondary Education to extend the same to school-going kids to address the malnutrition of lakhs of students from poor economic background. Reacting to it, S Suresh Kumar, Minister for Primary and Secondary Education, said that the state government was working
on the issue.