Anganwadi workers on protest path over honorarium

Tribune News Service

Bathinda, May 9

Members of the Anganwadi Mulazam Union (CITU) on Thursday carried out a protest march in the city and submitted a memorandum of demands to Finance Minister Manpreet Singh Badal.

Raising slogans against the state government and the Finance Minister, they sought the full amount of increased honorarium.

The anganwadi workers started the protest march from Teachers’ Home and after passing through Fauji Chowk and Hanuman Chowk, they reached the Finance Minister’s office near the Multipurpose stadium.

In anticipation to the protest, police personnel had installed barricades on the road leading to Manpreet Badal’s office. As police personnel stopped the protesters from reaching the Finance Minister’s office, the latter raised slogans against the state government.

The police personnel tried to placate the protesters and urged them to submit the memorandum of demands to the representative of the Finance Minister. But, the protesters refused to do so.

As efforts failed to bear fruit, the protesters again marched towards the bus stand. Thereafter, they blocked the Bathinda-Mansa highway, leading to traffic snarls.

Later, PRTC staff and private bus operators indulged in a verbal spat with anganwadi workers over blocking the road. After about half an hour, a representative from the Finance Minister’s office received the memorandum of demands, leading to the end of the protest.

Meanwhile, as the verbal spat ensued between protesters and bus drivers or conductors, the highway remained dotted with vehicles and commuters were at the receiving end.

Talking to Bathinda Tribune, Charanjit Kaur, president of the union, said, “We are really shocked over the approach of our leaders who not only turn a blind eye to our genuine demands but also not even bothered to spare a minute to carefully listen to us. Despite reaching out to assistants of the Finance Minister over his phone on a number of times in the past two days, he could not give us time for a meeting. Such indifferent approach of leaders won’t be tolerated at all. If they are inaccessible then what is the use of casting vote in their favour? A representative from his office has received the memorandum from us. But, we are deeply saddened by the treatment we received.”

She said, “The Union Government had increased the honorarium of anganwadi workers and helpers by Rs1,500 and Rs1,000, respectively, last year. But, the state government has failed to provide it. The government had even decided to provide an ex gratia of Rs1 lakh to anganwadi workers and Rs50,000 to helpers retiring at the age of 70, but it has not been implemented. The demand for regularisation of services has been lying pending for decades and there are no retirement benefits for anganwadi workers.”