The Times of India               17.09.2013

Aurangabad to get 10 new day care centres by Oct-end

AURANGABAD: The Aurangabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) is planning to offer day care services at ten new destinations in the city by the end of October. As of now, the civic body is running only two such centres - one each at Naregaon and Motikaranja.

In the first phase, the civic body will open five centres while the remaining centres will be opened in the second phase. In charge of women and child welfare cell in the AMC, Premlata Karad, said that after completion of the second phase, the city will have a total of 12 day care centres.

Karad said that the civic body had earmarked Rs 1 crore in its current annual budget under its women and child care cell for the centres. "We have planned to go about it in two phases ," she said. The civic body has recently identified five locations in five different areas including, Milind Nagar, Ambedkar Nagar, Chikhalthana, Mukundwadi, and Government Medical College and Hospital (GMCH). "We are starting the centres in areas close to slums or markets with a minimum capacity for 50 kids," she said.

Karad said the centre at GMCH would be dedicated to HIV patients who visit the hospital regularly for treatment. "We have a number of patients from nearby places that come to the hospital every day. Some of these belong to economically weaker section and cannot afford accommodation. Thus the municipal body is starting a day care centre close to the hospital with a capacity to accommodate about 100 kids," she said. The civic body assigns the centres to NGOs and pays honorarium based on the number of inmates. Karad said the civic body was spending Rs 60 per day per kid on the project. "NGOs provide milk, snacks and lunch to the kids every day. The centre will function between 9 am and 5 pm for kids in the age group of 5 to 14."

K V Deshmukh, president of the NGO - Aapulki Samaj Seva Santhsa - welcomed the move. However, he emphasised on improving facilities in the existing centres. "Normally, kids do not like to stay in the centre. They find the place quite similar to a school. We should provide them attraction like games and toys," he said.