Mumbai: Over 2,500 members of the Maharashtra State Anganwadi Workers Committee staged a protest at Azad Maidan on Tuesday. Anganwadi centres across the State have been on an indefinite strike since September 11, after the government failed to fulfil their demands of higher pay and address the grievances about the poor quality of food.
The committee, which consists of seven workers’ unions from Mumbai, Thane, Ichalkaranji, Kolhapur, Latur, and Sindhudurg, has 2.75 lakh affiliated workers.
“I have been working in an anganwadi centre for the last 35 years, but I am to yet to receive my payment since June. Even the ₹4.95 the State is supposed to provide for the nutrition of each child daily comes after six months. We are forced to spend from our pockets,” said Kanta Ravasaheba Mati (58) from Aurangabad.
An anganwadi worker gets ₹5,000, a helper ₹2,500, and a worker of a mini-anganwadi centre receives ₹3,500 per month.
Shabana Rehma Sheikh, an anganwadi leader in Aurangabad district, said the government should provide healthy and nutritious food to the children.
Sukumar Damle, president of Anganwadi Balwadi Karmchari Union, Mumbai, said the government has formed a committee of officers and representatives from the anganwadi unions to look into the issue. The panel on June 30 recommended that the payments of main workers and helpers be raised to ₹10,000 and ₹7,500 respectively.
Mr. Damle claimed that Pankaja Munde, Minister of Rural Development, Women and Child Welfare, had agreed to implement the recommendations, but no action was taken.
“Anganwadi staff work for over 10 hours daily. They even fulfil the extra duties like surveying public toilets, pregnant women, and supervising the quality of drinking water. The quality of food provided for the promised ₹4.92 is disastrous; it is unhealthy and very bad,” said Mr. Damle.
At the end of the protest, leaders of all the anganwadi unions held a meeting with Sudhir Mungantiwar, Minister of Finance and Planning, and Forests.
M.A. Patil, president of Maharashtra Rajya Anganwadi Karmchari Sangh, said, “The strike continues till the government meets our demands. Mr. Mungantiwar has promised to work out a proposal and present it to us and the Chief Minister on September 22.”
