Vizag needs more anganwadi centres: East MLA Velagapudi Ramakrishna Babu

Visakhapatnam East MLA Velagapudi Ramakrishna Babu stressed the need to expand and strengthen anganwadi infrastructure in the city. During the Zero-Hour in the Legislative Assembly on Thursday, the MLA urged the State Government to approach the Centre and seek sanction of an additional 159 anganwadi centres in Visakhapatnam to meet the increasing demand.

Mr Ramakrishna Babu said that currently there are 777 anganwadi centres in the city catering to 74,776 children. As per the prescribed norm of one anganwadi centre for every 1,000 beneficiaries, the city requires at least 159 additional centres to adequately serve the eligible population. He also pointed out that 215 anganwadi centres function out of temporary buildings and urged the government to provide permanent structures for them at the earliest.

Mr. Babu noted that Visakhapatnam has been witnessing increased migration due to the rising employment opportunities, and anganwadi centres have been playing a crucial role in supporting the children of migrant families. He further stated that several centres lack basic infrastructure such as furniture and other essential facilities, and appealed to the government to seek necessary sanctions to address these shortcomings.

Meanwhile, Pendurthi MLA Panchakarla Ramesh Babu raised concerns over the longstanding issue of pollution caused by pharma industries in his constituency. He said that despite repeatedly bringing the matter to the notice of the government, no effective measures have been taken so far. He pointed out that travelling along the stretch between Parawada and Lankelapalem has become extremely difficult due to pollution caused by heavy vehicles transporting coal and fly ash.

“Residents, vendors and shopkeepers along the route are affected severely by the coal dust and emissions. The government should ensure that heavy vehicles use a separate road instead of the public lanes to mitigate pollution and inconvenience faced by people,” he added.