Funds utilised by Mangalore Taluk Panchayat to construct an anganwadi centre at Talapady may have gone waste with the Department of Women and Child Development refusing to shift the existing centre to this building.
The issue came to the fore at the general meeting of the panchayat here on Saturday. Members said that even though the building was constructed in 2005, it was not being used. “Over Rs. 3 lakh was spent on this. Initially, DWCD said the surrounding around the building was too rocky and unsafe for children. We levelled that. Now they say that because it is close to a cemetery, the anganwadi centre cannot be shifted,” said Shekar Shetty, panchayat member from Talapady.
He demanded that the DWCD handover the land to the panchayat so that the building could be used for other purposes.
The Child Development Project Officer present at the meeting said the anganwadi was adjacent to a cemetery, where burials and cremations still take place. “Seeing a funeral and transport of bodies can be traumatising for the children. Moreover, presently, the anganwadi runs in a Madrasa, who have offered to construct a new complex for the anganwadi,” said the officer. The process to handover the building to the panchayat would be initiated soon, added the officer.
The meeting was pockmarked with angry outbursts from members demanding why previous resolutions had not been implemented. Members cited the example of the resolution, ratified four times in the panchayat, to seek the transfer of the Munnur grama panchayat development officer, whom they accuse of misappropriation and dereliction of duty.
One member commented that if the taluk panchayat was not taken seriously and no action was taken, it would seem like the members only come to the office once a month to drink coffee and chit-chat with fellow members.
