With the recruitment of anganwadi workers and helpers under way across the State, a tribal rights activist has requested the Coimbatore district administration to prioritise members of the Scheduled Tribes to be recruited for the anganwadis in the limits of Anamalai Tiger Reserve (ATR).
“Officials must give priority to the STs beyond the reservation for the anganwadis in ATR,” said activist S. Thanaraj, who is also the State Co-ordinator of Ekta Parishad, Tamil Nadu. Workers and helpers from general category, who were recruited for the anganwadis present within the ATR limits of Coimbatore district, might not understand the customs and practices of the tribal people, which might result in conflict, he argued. The anganwadi employees who did not live nearby would be forced to depend on women from the tribal settlements to reach the anganwadis every day, Mr. Thanaraj claimed.
Petitions in this regard were submitted to District Collector K. Rajamani as well as Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami on September 7, he said.
When contacted, an official from the Integrated Child Development Services based in Coimbatore said that around 225 applications had been received for the 106 anganwadis within the ATR as on Thursday. “We are receiving applications from everyone with the necessary documents and are not discriminating against any community,” the official said, requesting anonymity. The last date for receiving applications for anganwadis will be September 19.
