Anganwadi workers stage protest

NT Correspondent

Bengaluru: Anganwadi workers led by All India Trade Union Congress (AITUC) staged a protest at Maurya Circle in Bengaluru against the state government’s plan to introduce child care centres at 100 Anganwadi centres.

Jayamma, general secretary of AITUC said, “An Anganwadi worker is a community-based frontline worker of the Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) Programme. We work under immense pressure. The day care facilities for children require a lot of space and amenities, which the centres do not have,” she told News Trail.

“Anganwadi centres operate from 9 am to 4 pm every working day. We are constantly busy with our regular duties. On top of that, we are asked to take part in all kinds of surveys and duties which do not come under ICDS. If this scheme is brought up, we will have to start working from 7am to 7pm,” Latha, one of the workers, said.

For all the extra work, anganwadi workers say they are hardly paid enough.