Imphal, 10 February 2017 ( Evening News ) : Manipur also observed the national Deworming Day. State Health Society, Manipur held the day at the Angawadi Centre at Shamushang. Principal secretary of social welfare, JC Ramthanga, commissioner Education-S, directors of Social Welfare and Family Welfare Services and angawadi workers and helpers attended the event. JC Ramthanga inaugurated the event by administering deworming tablet to a child. Parents and guardians from the area also brought their minor children to administer deworming tablet. Deworming tablets were also administered to minor students of government primary and upper primary schools on the day.

In one of the country's largest single-day public health initiatives, an estimated 34 crore children will be administered de-worming tablets today to reduce worm infestation that can stifle physical and intellectual growth. The Health Ministry for the first time will also cover private schools and has asked state governments to rope them in, while it has set up 210 monitoring centres across the country to tackle adverse reactions of the tablet like stomach ache and vomiting. India has the highest burden of worm infections in the world, with the World Health Organisation estimating in 2014 that over 22 crore Indian children aged between 1 and 14 years are at risk.