Anganwadi Workers Protest Against Central Government in Ludhiana.

Anganwadi Workers Protest Against Central Government in Ludhiana: Demand Withdrawal of Conditions like FRS-eKYC and Allege Neglect on ICDS’s 50th Anniversary,

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The Anganwadi Mulazim Union Punjab staged a large-scale demonstration against the federal and state governments in Ludhiana today in honor of Children’s Day. Subhash Rani, the district 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 Minister Annapurna Devi. They claimed that the government’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 government, raised the slogan “Sarkar Hosh Mein Aao (Government, 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 District President Subhash Rani, the government has forced beneficiaries to comply with needless requirements like eKYC and FRS (Face Recognition System). For people 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 people 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, people are being made to repeatedly have their faces recognized

People 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 India Federation of Anganwadi Workers and Helpers, or AIFWH, made it plain that the government 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 India 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.