No ration at anganwadis in Balongi

Pavneet Singh Chadha

Tribune News Service

Mohali, October 23

The anganwadi centres in Balongi lack basic infrastructural facilities and also face shortage of ration supply. The centres run from makeshift arrangements, allotted by village panchayat at a local gurdwara and dharamsala (rest house).

Three anganwadi centres operate from the Ravidas Dharamsala while two from a gurdwara. One of the centres runs from a plot owned by an anganwadi worker in Ekta Colony.

Reena, a worker at one of the centres, said, “Before I was asked to move to the dharamsala, I was paying Rs 2,000 as rent for the centre on my own.”

At most of the centres, about 10-15 children are cramped in dingy rooms, which do not have a separate space for cooking or a washroom. These are sans ration supply, which include panjiri, sweet porridge (dalia), milk, sugar and rice. The weighing scale for classification of children under moderate, normal or underweight categories is not available.

“Children have to defecate in the open,” said a worker at the Guga Maadi centre. “The ration finished a few weeks back. We have sought the supply from our supervisor,” said a worker at one of the two centres in the village.

Suman, who works at Azad Colony anganwadi centre, said, “The ration finished about 15 days back. The ration supply is yet to come. We give biscuits to children and sometimes the helper brings cooked food from her home for children.”

“Whenever there is a marriage or a religious function, panchayat leaders ask us to vacate the premises,” said Paramjit Kaur, in charge of the centre number 1.

Thus the beneficiaries, which include children below the age of six and pregnant mothers, are deprived of supplementary nutrition and primary health care, under the Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) scheme.

According to the National Family Health Survey (NFHS), in Punjab 25.7 per cent children under the age of five are stunted.

In November 2016, Maneka Gandhi, Union Minister for Women and Child Development, had suggested using nutrition ‘sachets’ to achieve better outcome instead of the cooked meals under the Anganwadi scheme.

The anganwadi staff in Balongi say the Centre might consider pulling the plug on the scheme considering the poor outcome.

Arvinder Kaur, Child Development Project Officer (CDPO), Kharar-II, said a tussle between two panchayats had added to the chaos. “There is a lack of space for the centres in the village. I have made several requests to the panchayats to allot community land.”

Amarjit Kaura, District Project Officer, Mohali, said the bills for procurement of ration supply had been submitted to the treasury and were yet to be passed. The ration has finished some time back, Kaura added.