Anganwadi worker Lakshmi and her assistant Shahnaaz Begum, attached to Gundur Anganwadi in Karatagi taluk of Koppal district, who were kept under suspension after a video clip in which the latter was found taking back boiled eggs from children’s plate went viral, have now been dismissed from service.
Deputy Director for Women and Child Development in Koppal has in his statement said that Lakshmi and Shahnaaz were served show-cause notice asking why the department should not take disciplinary action against them.
However, both of them confessed that they took back the boiled eggs from the children’s plate.
When the Child Development Project Officer and Anganwadi Supervisor on August 10 conducted spot inspection and enquired about the incident, both the worker and the assistant tried to defend themselves giving a vague reason that the eggs were taken back to peel off the shell.
They also claimed that some eggs were found rotten and that they removed from the plates to replace them with good ones.
Again, on August 17, an official from the Women and Child Development Department and the Supervisor for Integrated Child Development Scheme (ICDS) conducted a joint inspection to get feedback from the residents about the implementation of various schemes.
The residents complained that they received only 15 eggs per month. The expectant mothers and those who gave birth to children complained that they did not receive nutrition supplements from the Anganwadi.
Based on both these reports, the Department of Women and Child Development levelled the charge of dereliction of duty and negligence and dismissed Lakshmi and Shahnaaz.
Published - September 04, 2024 10:44 pm IST
