Anganwadi Workers Protest Against Central ਸਰਕਾਰ in Ludhiana: Demand Withdrawal of Conditions like FRS-eKYC and Allege Neglect on ICDS’s 50th Anniversary,
The Anganwadi Mulazim Union ਪੰਜਾਬ staged a large-scale demonstration against the federal and state governments in Ludhiana ਅੱਜ in honor of Children’s Day. Subhash Rani, the ਜ਼ਿਲ੍ਹਾ president, organized a protest at the Child Development Project Offices (CDPO) with hundreds of Anganwadi Workers and Helpers.
Through the CDPO, they wrote a warning memo to Union Departmental ਮੰਤਰੀ Annapurna Devi. They claimed that the ਸਰਕਾਰ’s total disregard for them on the 50th anniversary of the ICDS program is a cruel joke on the nation’s 26 lakh workers. The protestors, carrying dictatorial flags and banners against the ਸਰਕਾਰ, raised the slogan “Sarkar Hosh Mein Aao (ਸਰਕਾਰ, Come to your senses).”
Putting on a front for a nation is dictatorship.
The Union’s major concern is the new restrictions adopted for distributing meals to beneficiaries. According to ਜ਼ਿਲ੍ਹਾ President Subhash Rani, the ਸਰਕਾਰ has forced beneficiaries to comply with needless requirements like eKYC and FRS (Face Recognition System). For ਲੋਕ and places threatened by flooding, these technical difficulties have grown to be a major issue.
The Issue with OTP and Mobile
The employees were furious, claiming that the OTP-based eKYC and FRS procedures are not feasible because many ਲੋਕ lack mobile phones and there is no network connection in some places. They made it quite evident that, in exchange for only 200–300 grams of ration, ਲੋਕ are being made to repeatedly have their faces recognized
ਲੋਕ aren’t getting enough rations.
Departmental personnel are removing beneficiaries from the list by issuing “strict warning letters” as a result of FRS’s failure. The All ਭਾਰਤ Federation of Anganwadi Workers and Helpers, or AIFWH, made it plain that the ਸਰਕਾਰ intends to monitor recipients under the Poshan Tracker and save money by denying them benefits rather than raising the ration. “If someone does not have a mobile, will their child remain hungry?” an angry Anganwadi worker inquired.
The All ਭਾਰਤ Federation of Anganwadi Workers and Helpers claimed that using a mobile phone and OTP for ration and identifying the face each time is an insult to the Golden Jubilee of ICDS and a plot to prevent the poor from receiving benefits.
