Anganwadi workers protest

Surinder Bhardwaj

Fatehgarh Sahib, July 10

The Anganwadi Employees’ Union held a protest at the district headquarters, urging the government to concede to their demands. They raised slogans against the government and presented a memorandum to the DC, which is to be forwarded to the Union Minister of Finance and Women and Child Development.

The union’s state president, Harjeet Kaur Panjola, said the employees are resentful against the government as their demands have been ignored. She said even after the orders of the Supreme Court, their demands were not conceded, adding that Anganwadi workers are being harassed on a regular basis. She said the ICDS budget should be increased so that they can buy better-quality food and save children at the centres from malnutrition.

She said workers and helpers should be given statutory benefits under the orders of the Supreme Court: an honorarium of Rs 26,000 per month; pre-primary education should be given to Anganwadi Centre; and a Rs 10,000 gratuity, among other benefits, should be given on retirement. She added that if the abovementioned demands are not met, they would intensify their agitation.