Hundreds of anganwadi workers were detained by the police in Vijayawada on Monday, September 25, who intended to participate in the ‘Chalo Vijayawada rally’ protest demanding the Jagan government to fulfill his poll promise to fix a minimum wage of Rs 26,000 and job regularisation. Amid prohibitory orders, as the Assembly session was in progress, nearly 3,000 anganwadi workers from across the state had gathered in Vijayawada to participate in the protest. The protest was organised by the Communist Party of India, Marxist, (CPIM) party.
According to Vijayawada police Commissioner Tata Rao, around 2622 protestors were detained.
The protestors alleged that their phones were checked, and were forcefully detained in convention halls and various police stations. According to reports, a few women fell unconscious during a scuffle with the police. CPI(M) state secretary V Srinivas Rao, was also detained.
Early in the morning, the Vijayawada police had deployed large numbers of personnel at Pandit Nehru Bus Station, PNBS, Dharna Chowk, railway station, and other key locations to prevent the protestors from going ahead with the plan. The protestors had planned to take out a rally from the Bapu Museum on Bandar Road to Dharna Chowk at around 11.30 am on Monday, but the police foiled their plans and took them under detention. Police said that the protestors did not have the requisite permission to take out a rally.
Condemning the police action CPI (M) state secretary, Srinivas said, “Before and after the elections, the Chief Minister promised to increase wages and solve other problems of anganwadi staff. However, the government did not keep up their promise. The police arbitrarily detained the Anganwadi workers. This is undemocratic.”
The Anganwadi Workers and Helpers Union members affiliated to the Centre of Indian Trade Unions, has been demanding immediate attention of Chief Minister YS Jagan to address the issues of anganwadi workers which includes fixing a minimum wage of Rs 26,000 (the present salary ranges between Rs 9,000 to 12,000) along with regularisation of services with benefits of gratuities, employee welfare programs, retirement benefits, dearness allowance (DAs), and travel allowance (TAs). They also demanded the government to get rid of the face-recognition application for anganwadi workers and also upgrade the mini-anganwadi centres into full-fledged centres.
Last year, the Andhra Pradesh government had introduced a new face-recognition application to monitor the work performed by the anganwadi workers.
Anganwadi workers have been opposing the introduction of various electronic tools claiming that it has increased their workload, for which they are not adequately compensated. At present, the workers need to upload pictures on the different apps depending upon the service provided to pregnant women, children, and the community. The protesting women threatened to stop using the face-recognition application if the government fails to discuss their employment issues in the Assembly.
Subbaravamma, Anganwadi Association union state secretary told TNM, “It has been four years since the government was formed. CM Jagan has promised to pay better salaries but he did not stand by it. We demand that the government discuss the issues of anganwadis in the Assembly.”