Ongole: Anganwadis demand increase in menu charges

Ongole (Prakasam District): Anganwadi workers and helpers demanded that the government must increase menu charges, provide one gas cylinder and resolve all pending issues like dues etc immediately, to provide freshly cooked lunch to pregnant and lactating women and children from three months to six years, from July 1.

Earlier, Anganwadis used to serve cooked lunch to pregnant and lactating women, along with the children under YSR Sampurna Poshana and YSR Sampurna Poshana Plus programmes. But now they are distributing raw materials due to the instructions given during Covid pandemic. Now, as coronavirus intensity is low, the government want them to restart the programme and serve freshly cooked lunch to the eligible.

There are 2,36,236 eligible under Sampurna Poshana programme in Prakasam district. Of them, 2,24,704 beneficiaries including 25,257 pregnant women, 22,463 lactating women, 1,03,580 infants and 73,404 toddlers were registered at Anganwadis for the benefits.

The Anganwadis should serve a variety of dal with cucumber, tomatoes, leafy vegetables, ridge guard and bottle guard, egg curry, sambar along with plain rice, tamarind rice, egg fried rice, vegetable rice as per the schedule in the week except for Sunday, along with milk in the prescribed quantity, to women and children. The government assures that the rice supplied to the Anganwadis is fortified with iron, folic acid and Vitamin – B, so that pregnant and lactating women, infants and toddlers get enough nutrition.

On Monday, District Women and Child Welfare and Empowerment Officer Y Dhanalakshmi instructed Anganwadis to implement the menu as per the schedule and warned that strict action will be taken against those, who are negligent.

Meanwhile, Prakasam district unit of Andhra Pradesh Anganwadi Workers and Helpers Union submitted a memorandum of demands to the District Collector during grievance programme. District general secretary Edara Annapurna said that the ration and menu charges fixed by the government to implement the programmes are very low and should be revised immediately.

She explained that the government sanctions 125 gm rice, 16 gm oil, 30 gm red gram, Rs 1.40 for vegetables and seasoning and Rs 0.50 for gas to prepare lunch for each woman. She said that compared to the prices today, it is not possible to serve the lunch as ordered by the government, and the Anganwadi workers need to take private loans and spend them to continue working. She pointed out that the government is not paying salaries, maintenance charges and rent for the Anganwadi centres, electricity bills regularly, and the workers are meeting the expenditure wherever the owners are putting pressure on them.

The Anganwadi workers demanded the government to immediately revise the menu charges and fix them as per the present-day cost, supply at least one gas cylinder for free, sanction an advance of one month for the expenses like vegetables and seasoning ingredients, supply gas stoves and utensils whenever required, appoint helpers posts at all of the Anganwadi centres and mini-centres, to implement the YSR Sampurna Poshana and YSR Sampurna Poshana Plus programmes successfully.