Matru Poorna, the scheme of providing nutritious mid-day meals for pregnant women and lactating mothers, was launched in the district by Minister for Revenue Kagodu Thimmappa who served food for the beneficiaries at an anganwadi centre at Sheshadripuram locality in the city on Monday.
A total of 26,290 women in the district, including 13,741 pregnant women and 12,549 lactating mothers, will be benefited from the scheme.
Nutritious food will be served for them in the afternoon through 2,439 anganwadi centres in the district. Speaking at a programme held at Dr. B.R. Ambedkar Bhavan in the city later to mark the occasion, Mr. Thimmappa requested the anganwadi workers to work with commitment to ensure success of the scheme. Owing to poverty, many pregnant and lactating women, have remained deprived of nutritious food, he said, adding that lack of access to nutritious food had resulted in problems like infant and maternal mortality.
The scheme has been launched by the State Government to tackle these problems, he said. K.B. Prasanna Kumar, MLA, R. Prasanna Kumar, MLC, and Chairperson of Shivamogga-Bhadravati Urban Development Authority Ismail Khan were present.
