Hundreds of anganwari, mid-day meal workers protest in Mandi

On a nationwide call given by the National Federation of Scheme Workers, hundreds of workers, including anganwari workers and helpers as well as mid-day meal workers, staged a major demonstration outside the Mandi district headquarters today. The participants from various blocks of the district gathered to raise long-pending demands and express strong resentment over what they described as years of government neglect.

The workers said that despite serving the country’s poorest and most vulnerable children for decades — ensuring nutrition for millions through the mid-day meal scheme and supporting maternal and child health services through anganwaris — they have been consistently overlooked. They pointed out that the Central government had not increased the honorarium of mid-day meal workers since 2009 and that of anganwari workers since 2020, nor has any relief been offered to offset inflation.

The protesters alleged that welfare schemes were being gradually handed over to private organisations under names like Nand Ghar, Vedanta and Poshan 2.0. They also expressed concern that digitalisation drives, particularly the introduction of the FRS mobile app, had resulted in lakhs of eligible beneficiaries being excluded from essential welfare programmes. Repeated budget cuts and frequent delays of several months in receiving honorarium payments, they said, had further aggravated their hardships.

The workers reiterated long-standing demands, including implementation of Supreme Court directions relating to gratuity, pension, medical facilities and maternity leave for anganwadi workers; provision of 20 days of casual leave annually at par with other government staff; timely payment of mid-day meal honorarium, ensuring deposits by the first day of every month; and the granting of worker or employee status to anganwadi and mid-day meal workers in line with the recommendations of the 45th Indian Labour Conference.

A memorandum listing these demands was submitted to the Prime Minister through district authorities. Several union leaders participated in the demonstration, including CITU District president Bhupender Singh, District general secretary Rajesh Sharma, Gurdas Verma, Anganwadi Workers and Helpers Union president Vimla Sharma and others. The workers warned that they would intensify their agitation if the government fails to address their concerns.