Little room for celebration: Anganwadi workers await Oct remuneration, while ASHA workers are waiting for Oct honorarium and pending incentives. Mid-day meal workers say they have received only two months’ payments out of six
She also alleged that workers had not received the Rs 1,000 promised for a Gruha Lakshmi re-verification survey. Oct payments were pending as funds had not been released, and bills would be submitted to the treasury Monday.
Tara Ballal, president of the Dakshina Kannada Anganwadi Workers Association, said payments had become irregular over the past couple of years. “When we ask officials, they say ‘funds are not available’,” she said. Jayalakshmi BR, founder president, Anganwadi Workers and Helpers Union Independent, said: “If there is no money, how can we celebrate a festival? A women and child development department official said payments up to Sept had been processed.
Some received Rs 7,200 for two months, around Rs 1,000 less than the expected monthly amount. Dakshina Kannada has 2,965 mid-day meal cooks. The district has around 1,280 ASHA workers. One worker said she had taken a Rs 2,000 loan for Deepavali.
Payments up to Aug had been processed, while Sept and Oct payments were pending and could be released together, a department source said.
Padmavathi Shetty, honorary president of the Dakshina Kannada Mid-Day Meal Workers Association, said workers received only two months’ remuneration out of six months pending, with some still not receiving even that. She said workers also handled cleaning and gardening in addition to cooking, and poor kitchen ventilation added to their difficulties. Many are in tears,” she said. Devaki, district president of the ASHA Workers union (CITU), said Sept payment had been credited, but Oct was pending.
The situation is worse for mid-day meal workers. Some were considering quitting. “The situation has become so difficult; how do they expect us to celebrate Deepavali without salaries? Incentives for two to three months were also unpaid.