Hutbay, May 19: A Block Level Village Health Sanitation and Nutrition Day (VHSND) was celebrated with the participation of various local line Departments at the Samiti Conference Hall, Hut Bay, Little Andaman. Shri S. Parmanathan, Pramukh, Little Andaman as the chief guest of the occasion addressed the gathering. The event witnessed the enthusiastic presence of Self Help Groups (SHGs), Village Organization Executive Committee (VO EC) members and local villagers.
Earlier, Shri Belthazer, Block Development Officer (BDO) welcomed the gathering. About 60 women from different SHGs, Vos and villages actively participated in the event. The program was organized by the Cluster Coordinators, Data Entry Operators, and Community Resource Persons.
Various Departments played key roles in raising awareness on important issues, in which, Dr. Shankar Saha from the Health Department educated participants on sanitation, WASH (Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene), and critical health-related information for pregnant women, lactating mothers, and adolescent girls while Smti B Albakka, ICDS, highlighted the issues of malnutrition and the importance of proper nutrition during the first 1000 days of a child’s life, as well as for pregnant and lactating women.
Smt. Seema Bhowmik from Police Department created awareness on preventing child abuse, domestic violence, harassment, and the legal avenues for justice and Smt. Sreedevi from Agriculture Department promoted the concept of nutrition gardens, use of organic manure, hybrid seeds, and provided training opportunities.