Anganwari workers’ protest continues, enters 139th day

Tribune News Service

Bathinda, June 16

A thick cover of dust engulfing the city notwithstanding, anganwari workers and helpers have been continuously staging a protest outside the District Administrative Complex. Their protest entered 139th day on Saturday.

Addressing the protesters, leader of the All-India Anganwari Mulazim Union’s leader Hargobind Kaur said, “We have been assured that all our demands will be fulfilled and a notification pertaining to the same will be released by the state government by July 16. Owing to the assurance, we dropped our plan to begin fast unto death. But we decided to continue this protest since it is right outside the offices of the government officials.”

Some of the protesters have been bringing their children along to the protest site since the summer vacations are under way. “It is an irony that anganwari workers, who had been entrusted with the task of taking care, teaching and feeding children of others, are bringing their own children to protest sites as they fight for their rights,” Hargobind Kaur said.

The protesters said since most of the anganwari workers and helpers belonged to poor families, they had no option but to work to add to their families’ income.

The anganwari workers have been demanding hike in their wages, closure of pre-primary classes, bringing back all the children from pre-primary classes to anganwari centres among other things.