In a bid to control drop out from schools in the tribal belt of the state, Rajasthan Government on Thursday said it would open 325 new government sponsored mother and child care centres on a pattern similar to ‘Anganwadi’. The state Minister for Tribal Area Development Nandlal Meena said the ‘maabari’ centres would be opened at an estimated cost of Rs 15.60 crore in four tribal districts of Pratapgarh, Banswara, Dungarpur and Udaipur. Children in the age group of 6 to 12 years and living in distant tribal areas would be provided basic education and day care at these ‘maabari’ centres, with or without their parent, Meena said. The minister said this facility would spare the children from walking long distances to reach schools located in another area of the tribal belt. Of these centres, 105 new ‘maabari’ would be opened in Pratapgarh district, 74 in Banswara, 52 in Dungarpur and 94 in Udaipur, he said. PTI