As many as 6,164 children aged between six months and six years, 2,638 adolescent girls, 232 pregnant women, and 753 lactating mothers are residing in refugee camps in Manipur and are linked to nearby Anganwadi centres, the government informed Parliament on Friday.
Women and Child Development Minister Annpurna Devi gave an update on the assistance given to displaced people in such camps in the northeastern state in a written response to a question in the Lok Sabha. Devi claims that these people are connected to 271 Anganwadi centers in the area.
Under the Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana, 103 women expecting their first child have been enrolled. Out of them, thirty-three women received the second instalment of Rs 2,000, while seventy women received the first instalment of Rs 3,000. She further mentioned that 268 Anganwadi assistants and 359 Anganwadi staff are actively managing temporary Anganwadi services at the relief camps in order to cater to the needs of the refugees.
The minister went on to say that in response to a plea from the Manipur government, the Center has authorized special assistance of Rs 400.42 crore for the displaced people residing in the relief camps. After ethnic violence broke out between the Meiteis, who live in the Imphal valley, and the Kukis, who live in the hills, in May of last year, over 200 people have died and others have been left homeless in Manipur.
