The district unit of the Karnataka Rajya Anganawadi Noukarara Sangha here on Friday staged a rasta roko against a proposal to privatise the Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) programme. Hundreds of workers sat on the Bangalore-Mangalore Road, blocking vehicular movement.
They raised slogans against the involvement of private bodies and non-government organisations in the ICDS programme.
Dharmesh, of the Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU), said that lakhs of anganwadi workers had been contributing to country’s growth in numerous ways. They have been caretakers of children and women. Any effort to privatise services could jeopardise the scheme. “The protest is not for the welfare of Anganwadi workers alone; this issue concerns the public benefitted by the ICDS scheme. The government should strengthen the scheme by increasing payment and benefits to workers,” he said.
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Anganwadi Workers’ Association office-bearers Y.R. Manjamma, V. Latha and others spoke on the occasion.
The Hassan city police objected to rasta roko on the busy road; they wanted the protest to end, so that vehicles could move. However, CITU office-bearers argued that they were sitting on the road because the protesters had been denied the use of the public address system in the Deputy Commissioner’s office, on the grounds that it “would disturb officials.”.
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“If protesters’ speeches are construed as disturbance, who will respond to disturbances faced by anganwadi workers every day?” he asked
ArrestedMandya Staff Correspondent writes:
The Mandya subdivision police arrested as many as 300 anganwadi workers here on Friday, after they blocked vehicular movement at Sri Nalwadi Krishnaraja Wadiyar Circle on the Bangalore-Mysore Highway to highlight their demands. The workers were protesting against the restructuring of the ICDS programme.
The protest was organised by the Karnataka State Anganwadi Workers and Assistants’ Federation, CITU, and other organisations. It was attended by over 500 anganwadi workers, who assembled near the Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) bus-stand and formed a human chain at the busy Sri Nalwadi Krishnaraja Wadiyar Circle against the Centre.
Thousands of vehicles were stranded along the highway. Deputy Superintendent of Police V.J. Shobharani and other officials took workers into custody when they continued their agitation. All of them were released later, she told The Hindu .
The workers also wanted better salaries, job security, seniority-based promotion, minimum wage, holidays, BPL cards and houses.