Work in many anganwadi centres has been hampered owing to the fact that their employees have been assigned election-related work.
While in some centres, assistants have been entrusted with the task of looking after children, in others, the work has been outsourced to women in the locality. In some places, workers have requested the parents not to send their children to anganwadi centres till the elections are completed.
Incidents of minor accidents due to the child being left unattended are reported from some places.
T. Venkatesh, Additional Deputy Commissioner, told The Hindu that services of government employees such as teachers, village accountants, bill collectors and anganwadi workers were being utilised for election work. Anganwadi workers, who are block-level officers, are being asked to assist in the enrolment of fresh additions to the voters’ list. Most officials work for over 12 hours a day during elections, he said and added that they were being paid for the work.
However, H.S. Sunanda and Savitramma, office-bearers of the State Anganwadi Workers and Assistants’ Association, alleged that workers were being used for jobs other than the designated ones and that they could not concentrate on training children and taking care of pregnant women and lactating mothers. Young children at anganwadi centres were at risk as workers, who are supposed to look after them from 9.30 a.m. to 4.30 p.m., were away on poll duty.
There are instances of parents being asked not to send their children to anganwadis till the elections are over
Incidents of minor accidents to children left unattended have been reported
Services of teachers, village accountants and aganwadi workers are being utilised for poll duty, says Additional Deputy Commissioner
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