Mobile telephony, rather the lack of it, can deprive people of crucial things in this age of communication revolution. Eggs, for one, are not being supplied to scores of anganwadi centres as they are located in areas which are not covered by cellphone networks thereby making it impossible to place indents through SMS as mandated by the Department of Women and Child Development.
The Department has made it essential for the anganwadi teachers to place an indent for their monthly quota of eggs through a simple SMS. This in turn generates a one time password which is the identity code of the centre concerned against which the eggs are delivered.
Hilly terrain
There being no cell network in vast stretches of the hilly confines in the Agency areas of Adilabad and Kumram Bheem districts, several anganwadi centres could not raise an indent. Consequently there is no egg supply to such centres where not only small children but also pregnant women and neonatal mothers get nutritious food.
For instance, poor Adivasi children at Laxmipur (K) anganwadi centre in Pochampalli gram panchayat of Indervelli mandal have not been served eggs since the last two months as the anganwadi teacher has failed to place an indent. “The SIM we were given by the Department does not work here,” anganwadi teacher Anam Venkamma lamented, as she pondered over the question of egg supply.
“The department is seized of the matter and has asked the teachers to make indent through any other phone in the village,” revealed in charge Adilabad District Welfare Officer Women, Children, Disabled and Senior Citizens, Uma Rani.
Lack of awareness
“The problem also arises as the phone inbox is full and the OTP cannot be delivered,” she observed hinting towards the general lack of awareness on functioning of a mobile instrument among teachers working in remote areas.
“Often, the delivery person does not hand over eggs to the mini centres,” accused Madavi Kamala, teacher at Keslapur centre which has a couple of mini centres under it for which she has to place the indent. “The delivery vehicle driver got me to sign the sheet for a mini centre but did not deliver eggs last month,” she pointed out.
Among other problems is denial of eggs to those who have no Aadhaar cards. For example, the Keslapur anganwadi centre boasts of 65 children but 43 of them are not given eggs as they do not have Aadhaar numbers.
