Over 21,000 Anganwadi Centres in Odisha Lack Buildings, 31,000 Without Electricity

Bhubaneswar: A large number of Anganwadi centres in Odisha continue to operate without proper infrastructure, with more than 21,000 centres lacking their own buildings and over 31,000 centres without electricity, according to Women & Child Development Minister Pravati Parida.

Responding to a written question by BJD MLA Arvind Mohapatra in the State Assembly, the Minister revealed that Odisha has 74,192 Anganwadi centres, but 21,486 of them do not have dedicated buildings and 47,737 lack boundary walls. Additionally, 31,456 centres remain unelectrified, affecting the services provided to children and pregnant women.

The Minister assured that funds are being allocated in phases to districts for electricity connections, with security deposits being provided to ensure power supply from the nearest source. However, she noted that there are no immediate plans to construct boundary walls, but improvements to Anganwadi infrastructure are being carried out in phases.