Poshan Mahotsav from Sept 17 to promote nutritious eating habits

 Hyderabad: The state government would be celebrating ‘Poshan Mahotsav’ for one month from September 17 to October 16. Anganwadis will be visiting every house and provide ‘Poshan Sandesh’.

Women and Child Welfare Minister Dhanasari Anasuya (Seethakka) said that the Poshan Masam Mahotsav was being organised with the support of the central government with the aim of improving the health and nutrition of children and women. Plans have been prepared to reach every household with the message of nutrition through Anganwadi staff to encourage them to eat healthy food, said Seethakka, who wrote letters to the public representatives of the state.

The Minister asked the public representatives to actively participate in the successful organization of the Poshan Masam festival and to encourage these programs in their constituencies.

She said that since nutrition is the first step for family health, the main purpose of this month was to create awareness on nutrition in every household.

The Minister revealed that the state government had released funds of Rs 30,000 for each ICDS project and Rs 50,000 for each district to undertake special programs to create awareness among the people. Instructions were issued to the concerned officials to organize awareness programs, camps and health check-up camps on nutrition from the village level to the district and state levels using these funds.

The Minister said that many steps were being taken to provide quality pre-primary education to children and the necessary nutrition to the body on the occasion of this Poshan Masam. She said that special campaign programs would be organized to reduce the consumption of junk food and to raise awareness among the people on the use of sugar, salt and oil. She said that in order to promote proper eating habits among the people, the message of nutrition will be taken to every household with the help of Anganwadi workers.

The Minister explained that the purpose of this program was to create comprehensive awareness about nutrition in families by increasing the participation of men in the Nutrition Mission. She said that programs to promote the consumption of products at the rural level and increase self-reliance will also be organized as part of this with the slogan “Vocal for Local”. She revealed that nutrition data would be collected at the village level with the use of technology and regular monitoring will be carried out on them. She said that steps were already taken to organize mega health camps across the state under the Health and Family Welfare Department during the Poshan Masam. The Minister said, “Building a Nutritional Telangana is the responsibility of all of us. This awareness should be raised in every village and every family. With the cooperation of public representatives, we will make this festival a success and pave the way for a healthy Telangana.”

Details of the programs to be undertaken every day as part of the Poshan Month were prepared and sent to the districts. Accordingly, the respective programs will be undertaken simultaneously across the state. She appealed to all the people to play an active role in these programs. Minister Seethakka expressed the hope that this Poshan Masam would play a key role in building a nourished and healthy society.