RAMANATHAPURAM: Instead of solely organising awareness campaigns, officials must visit villages and meet people in order to prevent child marriages, and to reduce the prevalence of anaemia in the district, said Union Minister of State for Social Justice and Empowerment A Narayanaswamy after inspecting projects taken up under the Aspiration District Programme in Ramanathapuram on Tuesday.
As many as 117 districts across the nation, including Ramanathapuram and Virudhunagar in Tamil Nadu, were chosen for implementing the Aspiration District Programme, which aims to develop the most underdeveloped regions in the country regarding aspects of health, nutrition, education, agriculture and water resources. Narayanaswamy inspected the developmental works in the district and conducted a special review meeting with district administration officials at the collectorate.
Addressing the media after the meeting, the Minister of State (MoS) said a survey was conducted in Ramanathapuram district, and it was found that anaemia is prevalent among the general public in the coastal areas due to early marriage, use of saltwater and certain eating habits.
"Officials should visit these places and talk to the residents instead of conducting simple awareness programmes. The prevalence of anaemia and the increasing number of child marriages can be arrested only by discussing the issues with people directly. Special guidelines have also been provided to health department officials to concentrate on early detection of tuberculosis cases, as early detection is vital for the cure. Further, education department officials were asked to find out the reasons for students dropping out from schools," he added.
Under the Jal Jeevan Mission project, a target has been set to provide drinking water connections for about 3.20 lakh houses, out of which, around 90,000 houses in Ramanathapuram district have already received connections, Narayanaswamy further said.