It is collective responsibility to ensure proper nutrition to children: Siddhartha Bhattacharya

A Correspondent

Sivasagar: State Education Minister Siddhartha Bhattacharya and Member of Parliament for Jorhat HPC, Topon Kumar Gogoi flagged off a Poshan Rath from the office premises of the Deputy Commissioner on Sunday as part of the month-long Rashtriya Poshan Maah in Sivasagar.

Attending a meeting held in this context at the Sukafa conference hall of the DC’s office, Education Minister Siddhartha Bhattacharya lauded the efforts of the district administration put in organizing various activities like the Poshan Rath in the district in order to create mass awareness on importance of nutrition for children and women. “Children are the future of a nation and it is our collective responsibility to ensure proper nutrition to children to grow healthy and fit, which is deemed essential for a country to progress in the real sense of the term,” the minister stressed. Instead of feeding the children costly medicines, vitamins and health supplements to ensure their growth, the minister urged the public to opt for locally available fruits and home-made nourishing foods as they were equally nutritious, easily available and cost effective. Further, he called on parents and school authorities to create awareness among the adolescent girls about menstrual hygiene and importance of using sanitary napkins.

Highlighting the key schemes of the Central Government in the sectors of health, education and cleanliness, Jorhat MP Topon Kumar Gogoi emphasized the need of collaborative efforts of the departments like Health, Education, Public Health Engineering and Social Welfare so that the public could derive maximum benefit out of them. He also lauded the efforts of the participants of the Poshan Rath and wished the venture a grand success.

During his welcome speech, Deputy Commissioner Dr S. Lakshmanan opined that dedicated efforts of all the participating departments and all out support from the public would play a vital role towards eradicating malnutrition and other related health hazards. He called on the stakeholders and the general public to transform the Poshan Abhiyaan into a Jan Andolan or public movement with a view to make the country free from the clutches of malnutrition.

The rath, which will travel all over the district till September 23, has on display a large variety of locally available green, leafy and other vegetables. The meeting was also attended by District Development Commissioner Nawab Al Azhar Ali, chairperson of Sivasagar Municipal Board, Mridusmita Sinha, officers and staff of various government departments, Anganwadi workers and a host of leading citizens.

Also Read: Will Withdraw Higher Secondary Classes From Colleges: Siddhartha Bhattacharya

Also Watch: Zubeen Garg appeals crowd in Jorhat to watch 'Ratnakar'