The aroma of sambar rice and the chorus of children reciting Tamil words have been missing from the anganwadi centres in the foothills of Anaikatti in Coimbatore for the last six months since the lockdown came into force.

Preschool children, who were engaged by anganwadi workers and given nutritious meals, would have missed all that, but for the workers who now go to their houses and deliver raw rice and a variety of dals once every 15 days instead of the cooked food.

“If it was not for the food grains supplied through the anganwadi centres here, we would have died of starvation in the lockdown days,” says S Nanjan, a resident of Thoombanur tribal hamlet in the district.

“Despite our houses being located a little interior in the foothills of Western Ghats, the anganwadi teachers took the effort to reach us and supply the food grains,” Nanjan says with gratitude.