Anganwadi Workers and Helpers on Monday (August 4) staged a protest at the ICDS Office here, announcing their decision to boycott online work from August 5 as the mobile phones given to them didn’t support such work. They said that they would continue their work offline.
The workers, affiliated to AP Anganwadi Workers and Helpers Union (CITU), AP Angawadi Workers and Helpers Association (AITUC) and AP Pragathiseela Anganwadi Workers and Helpers and Union (IFTU), said the mobile phones supplied to the Anganwadi Centre organisers were not supporting the Poshan and Bala Sanjeevini Apps. The Angawadis were facing difficulties in adhering to the mandate that commodities should be given to the beneficiaries only through photo capture, OTP and FRS.
The beneficiaries were also facing difficulties as they were not getting all the commodities in one go. Poor network connectivity and frequent server problems added to their woes. The Anganwadi workers demanded that the different apps be combined into a single app. They also sought tabs with 5G connectivity.
The other demands include: hike in wages, issue of G.O. for converting Mini Anganwadis into Main Anganwadis, and formulation of guidelines for the promotion of Helpers.
Union leaders P. Mani, K. Venkata Lakshmi and Tulasi were among those who led the protest at the Urban CDPO s Office. The leaders said that the Urban CDPO declined to take their mobile phones. They said that the protest would be continued on Tuesday.
At a separate protest at the ICDS Office, near R&B junction, Anganwadi Workers and Helpers Union, CITU, president K. Venkatalakshmi said the workload of the Anganwadis had increased tremendously as they were being made to deal with multiple apps besides being entrusted with additional responsibilities.
The poor connectivity and server problems were other issues, which were hampering their work. She recalled that TDP general secretary Nara Lokesh had promised to increase the wages of Anganwadis, if the TDP was voted to power.
AITUC leaders M. Venkata Lakshmi, P. Syamala Devi, P. Kruparani and A. Nookaratnam were among those who participated.
Published – August 05, 2025 07:26 am IST
