Mairang, July 25: Mr Metbah Lyngdoh, Cabinet Minister i/c Tourism, PHE etc, today inaugurated anAnganwadi Centre atMawkhapMawnai Village, Mairang, West Khasi Hills in the presence of Shri A Nongbri, SDO Mairang Civil Sub – Division, Shri V Swer, BDO, Mairang C&RD Block, Smt I Slong, CDPO Mairang, Shri W Rani, Sordar of Mawkhap village, Shri SS Warjri, Headmaster, Lower Primary School, Mawkhap among others.
“This centre is no longer a property of the Social Welfare, it belongs to you now,” said Shri Metbah Lyngdoh, who is also the local MLA, while appealing to the residents of the village to have a sense of ownership of the Centre and avail the maximum benefit from the services it provides.
The minister further stated that construction of such centres and other developmental activities undertaken by different departments of the government are all for the welfare of the public and not for the departments. He said that “the Government of Meghalaya and the Government of India allots crores of rupees for the welfare of the people, however the public deem it (buildings, centres etc) as Government property.”
Highlighting the fact that the public in the rural areas are hesitant to visit Aganwadicenters, he said that infants in most villages are therefore more prone to diseases. The minister called upon the gathering to make full use of the Centre for the welfare of their children.
In her speech, CDPO Mairang, Smt I Slong informed the gathering that the services provided by these centres are Pre – school education, Supplementary Nutrition programmes, Immunisations, Health and Nutrition Programmes, Health Check ups and referrals, hence she urged the residents of the village to take the opportunity of availing these services for the benefit of their children in particular and the village as a whole.
It may be mentioned that the single storeyed Anganwadi centre in Mawkhap village was constructed at a cost of 7 lakhs rupees sanctioned under the Integrated Child Development Scheme through a convergence of Social Welfare department and Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Generation Scheme (MGNREGS). In this particular Anganwadi centre there is one Anganwadi worker and one Anganwadi helper and there are 82 beneficiaries aged 6 months to 6 years old, 20 Expecting mothers and Nursing mothers in Mawkhap Mawnai village.
