Vijayawada: Anganwadi staff agitation enters 7th day

Vijayawada: Anganwadi Workers and Helpers Union’s dharna entered the seventh day on Monday at the Dharna Chowk in Vijayawada and other parts of the state. Thousands of Anganwadi workers and helpers are boycotting the duty and staging protests across the state condemning the failure of the government to concede their demands.

The Anganwadi workers and helpers took out a rally from Vijayawada railway station to the Dharna Chowk on Monday holding banners and flexes. Addressing the dharna, union district honorary president D V Krishna, president T Gajalakshmi and general secretary Supraja recalled that YSRCP had assured the Anganwadi workers that the government would pay Rs 1,000 more salary compared to Telangana state workers but failed to implement the promise even after 4.5 years.

They said the Supreme Court issued orders to the states to pay gratuity and retirement benefits to the Anganwadi workers but the state government is not implementing it, they said. They alleged that the state government is resorting to many conspiracies to break the agitation of the Anganwadi workers and helpers in the state.

The leaders demanded the government to increase wages, enhance budget allocation, sanction Rs 5 lakh retirement benefits and pay 50 per cent of wages as pension after their retirement. Anganwadi workers vowed to continue their struggle till their demands are met. They asked the government to increase menu charges of the YSR Sampoorna Poshana, supply cooking gas and release the pending rents of the Anganwadi centres and TA bills.