Anganwadi workers protest at Punjab minister Dr Baljit Kaur’s house in Faridkot

Faridkot, July 21

Members of the All-Punjab Anganwadi Workers Union on Sunday started a hunger strike in front of the residence of Minister for Social Security, Women and Child Development and Social Justice Department Dr Baljit Kaur in Faridkot.

Alleging supply of poor quality food at the anganwadi centres across the state, the workers demanded a high-level inquiry into the alleged supply of substandard food items and they also demanded a hike in their honorarium keeping pace with the inflation.

Hargobind Kaur, president of the All Punjab Anganwadi Workers Union, said despite several requests, they have not been given the status of pre-nursery teachers. She said Anganwadi workers and helpers should be given statutory benefits as per the orders of the Supreme Court, which include an honorarium of Rs 26,000 per month, pre-primary education at anganwadi centres and a Rs 10,000 gratuity, among other benefits, should be given on retirement. She added that if the above mentioned demands were not met, they would intensify their agitation.

In 2017, children between the age group of 3 to 6 were taken from the anganwadi centres and were admitted into the primary schools. Pre-primary education was provided at the anganwadi centres and we were told that it would start again but no action has been taken in this direction so far, she added.

While the protesting anganwadi workers accused the police of misbehaving with them, the deployment of the heavy police force to check the entry of the protesters in the residential colony where the minister lives here, caused much inconvenience to the other residents of the colony. The police allegedly closed all entry and exit gates of Royal City Colony in Faridkot to ensure that no protester enter the colony and reach the minister’s residence, putting over residents of the colony to inconvenience.

While ordering an inquiry into the allegations of supply of poor food quality at the anganwadi centres, Dr Baljit Kaur said though the department officials were directed to collect the samples of the food items to check its quality but she had personally checked the food at some centres and found it good in quality.

She said in these allegations of poor food quality supply at the centres, there seems to be a political agenda to tarnish the image of the government. About the demands of the angwanwadi workers, she said the state government was already working on these demands.