THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Anganwadis in the state will soon be transformed into the most attractive creches in the state. As part of this, 69 model anganwadis will come up in the state within a year. These child-friendly anganwadis will be a far cry from the existing ones, most of which lack drinking water or toilet facilities. If the existing ones are cramped single or two-room entities less than 500 sq ft, the proposed ones will be more than 1500 sq ft with all that is required to make the building child-friendly. Each one will have a large hall, dining space, wash space, toilets for boys and girls, toilet for adults, a store to keep food and study materials, and also a verandah.
The state government has sanctioned Rs 6 crore for the construction of the 69 anganwadis; each one costing Rs 14.5 lakh. The state will foot 60 per cent of the cost (Rs 8.7 lakh) of each building and the remaining (Rs 5.8 lakh) will have o be met by the local body concerned. The basic objective of the re-design is to increase enrolment in anganwadis. An internal report, which came out in October last year, had found that the infrastructure facilities in anganwadis had not improved even 18 years after the local bodies were asked to take on the responsibility of running the anganwadis. The assessment was carried out in 5072 anganwadis in 81 local bodies in the state. Of this, 2245 anganwadis or 44 per cent were functioning out of rented houses.
“Only buildings that have toilets and drinking water supply should be taken on rent. But the assessment found that the majority of the rented buildings lacked basic facilities,” the report said. Only 31 per cent of the anganwadis under the scanner had drinking water facilities and only 58 per cent of them had power. In 83 per cent of anganwadis, it was found that there were no baby-friendly toilets. There are a number of anganwadis where the children share toilets with the building owner’s family. The pathetic conditions prevailing in anganwadis have prompted parents to stop sending children to these creches, the report says.
