Kejriwal, officers inspect Delhi Anganwadi centers

New Delhi, June 18: Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia and around 800 government officials visited a number of Anganwadi centers across Delhi on Saturday.

"We discovered many problems during the visit, including that some (Anganwadi centers) exist only on paper. While some need to do more, some are doing good work. We will get more information once the reports are reviewed," Kejriwal said.

Kejriwal and Sisodia visited two Anganwadi centres in Shakarpur area in east Delhi and also tasted food prepared at one of the centres.

"Children complained that they didn't like 'chana' that was cooked today (Friday). It was fine, I tasted it, but children like biscuits, banana and dry fruits better. Let's see what we can do," he said.

On Tuesday, Manish Sisodia had announced that with an aim to clean the Anganwadi system in the national capital, around 1,600 Anganwadi centres would be inspected by 800 IAS, DANICS (Delhi, Andaman and Nicobar Islands Civil Service) and ad-hoc DANICS officers on Saturday.

There are about 10,000 Anganwadi centres in Delhi, and after reviewing Saturday's inspection reports, the campaign will be extended to the rest.

Officers have to visit houses of each child or women whose name is registered with an Anganwadi centre and enquire whether they were getting proper food, what was being taught and whether students were actually visiting those centres.

The number of officers who took part in the inspection and the number of Anganwadi centres covered would be confirmed next week, once the reports are reviewed.