Bhubaneswar: The Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) has made its first government-supported creche operational at Saheed Nagar in the city. The facility has been set up at the Integrated Public Service Centre building and is aimed at providing day care support to working parents.

According to BMC officials, this is the first such creche in Odisha being run with government assistance.

The creche was formally inaugurated in the presence of Bhubaneswar Central MLA Ananta Narayan Jena, BMC Mayor Sulochana Das and BMC Commissioner Chanchal Rana.

Timings, age group and fees

The facility will cater to children between six months and six years of age. It will remain open from Monday to Saturday, between 9 am and 5.30 pm. Parents will have to pay a monthly fee of Rs 500 to avail the service.

Child-friendly facilities

The creche has been designed to support early childhood development. It is equipped with play materials, learning aids, songs and games for preliminary education. The interiors have been attractively decorated with colourful images of animals, birds and fish on the walls.

BMC officials said the environment has been created to support the mental, educational and overall development of young children, while also easing the burden on working parents in the city.