Broken tiles, dilapidated buildings and rat infestation are some of the problems that plague the anganwadi centres situated in Kannagi Nagar.
“During rain, water would seep into the building through the walls. The entire place would be inundated and in these conditions the parents would not send their children as it is dangerous,” said a helper at an anganwadi centre.
Anganwadis are set up by the government as part of the Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) programme to tackle malnutrition and hunger of children apart from development needs of pregnant and lactating mothers. Each centre is supposed to have a teacher and helper who would cook and maintain the cleanliness of the anganwadi
Cardboard covers the ground of another anganwadi as the tiles are broken and the burrowed mud has made mounds within the centre. “We have shut this centre as repairs have to be undertaken. The children that come here have now been moved to other nearby anganwadis,” said an official from ICDS.
The sight of a cow urinating near the kitchen of another anganwadi strikes first before the water-seeped walls and blocked toilet come into focus. “We have been sending our requirements for the centre every month. We do what we can out of our pocket such as sweeping the surroundings of the centre,” said a teacher.
The poorly maintained cooking space of an angawadi centre in Kanngai Nagar. | Photo Credit: Special arrangement
Every centre has a slew of problems but rat infestation plagues them all. “The rats enter through the drains in the toilets. So we put a stone in the toilet to stop them. It has been four months since anybody used the toilet. The children use the open ground as a bathroom,” said an anganwadi helper.
Kannagi Nagar which boasts of over one lakh population has only 19 ICDS centres for over 25,000 families present there. “The ICDS centres are grossly inadequate. A lot more children would go to the centres but the parents are scared that the buildings might collapse any day,” said former AIADMK councillor T.C. Karuna.
Echoing these fears, Manisha whose two-year-old child goes to one of the anganwadis, said, “The buildings might fall any day. There is no proper water connection and the toilet is blocked to keep the rats out. It’s with fear that I send my child to the centre.”
Officials with ICDS stated that they have been raising these issues with the Greater Chennai Corporation for the past four months but no step had been taken until now.
Vanessa Peter, founder, Information and Resource Centre for the Deprived Urban Communities, said, “The District Habitat Development Committee which was set up to address the requirements of slum and resettlement areas has not conducted any other meeting since its first in 2022. The high-level monitoring committee headed by the Chief Secretary for resettlement areas which was introduced in 2011 should also be revived to benefit the people.”
