Anganwadi staff demand strengthening of ICDS

Khammam: Representatives of Anganwadi Workers and Helpers Association staged a dharna demanding to allot Rs 50,000 crore in budget to ‘Integrated Child Development Services’ (ICDS), in front of the Project Office of ICDS here in Khammam on Friday.

Speaking on the occasion, the Association district secretary Sithamalakshmi alleged that Central government was trying to dissolve the ICDS by decreasing the budget allocation from 68 per cent to 20 for the government welfare schemes implemented in the country.

She pointed that for many years Anganwadi workers have been striving hard for the successful implementation of Mother and Child Protection Scheme in the country.

“Even after recommendations of the 12th Planning Commission the government is not trying to strengthen the ICDS in the country,” she criticised.

She demanded the government to withdraw the decision of privatisation of Anganwadi centres and demanded to upgrade to mini-anganwadi centres with a population over 500 members apart from considering the Anganwadi workers as government employees fixing the retirement age to 60 years.

Later, the Anganwadi workers submitted a memorandum to the Project Director of ICDS at his office.

AITUC vice-president Mekala Srinivas Rao, Gade Lakshminarayana, Manda Venkateshwarlu, Thati Nirmala, Avuri Lalitha Devi, U Padma, S K Hasnabi, Revathi, Parijatham, Razia, Adi Lakshmi and Mariyamma and others took part in the protest.