Resentment of agitating anganwadi workers boiled over at Sagar in Madhya Pradesh on Friday after the death of a protester on Thursday night.
The protesters clashed with police after the latter tried to stop them from paying last homage to Shahnaz Bano, an anganwadi worker from Lajpatnagar ward in Sagar city, who died on Thursday night after falling ill at the protest site.
The agitating anganwadi workers claimed that this was the second death among their colleagues participating in the protest during the past month. On March 22, Rajkumari Ahirwar, an anganwadi helper from Shivaji Ward had also succumbed after falling sick during the agitation, Pappu Tiwari, patron of the Anganwadi Karyakarta evam Sahayika Sangh that is spearheading the agitation, told THE WEEK.
The agitation has been on for the past 40 days across 37 districts in the extremely hot weather, but neither the authorities concerned nor the three ministers of Shivraj Singh Chouhan cabinet who hailed from Sagar had paid any attention to them.
On Friday, the protesters announced that the body of Bano would be brought to the protest site before last rites, but the police changed the route of the burial procession. When the protesters tried to meet the procession, police tried to stop them, resulting in scuffle and also a cane charge by the police, Tiwari claimed.
The protesters have been demanding that the anganwadi workers, deputy anganwadi workers, helpers and the mini anganwadi workers be declared as government employees and given equal wages, they should get benefit appointment (for family members) on compassionate ground, should get retirement benefits of Rs 5 lakh for anganwadi workers and Rs 3 lakh for helpers, should get the arrears of hiked allowances pending since year 2019, mini anganwadi workers should be upgraded to anganwadi workers. Also, they are demanding that Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan fulfill his promise of paying Rs 1 lakh to anganwadi workers and Rs 75,000 to helpers following retirement, Tiwari said.
Later, state PWD minister Gopal Bhargava, one of the three ministers who hail from Sagar, met the protesters to pacify them and assured that their demands will be taken up during the cabinet meeting to be held next Tuesday (April 19).
Apart from their long standing demands, the protesters, while talking to the minister, sought action against officials of the women and child development department whom they accused of mental harassment. They also demanded Rs 5 lakh as compensation to the families of the deceased colleagues, government job for their family members and sacking of the WCD officers and registration of a police case regarding the death of Bano.
During discussions with the minister at the protest site, the district president of the organization, Leela Sharma fell unconscious and was provided immediate treatment. Sharma said in a press statement later that on April 16, anganwadi workers from different districts will come to Sagar to pay homage to their deceased colleague. The agitation will continue till their demands are resolved, the organisation has said.
Kamal Nath writes to CM
Earlier in the day, ex-chief minister Kamal Nath wrote a letter to Chouhan highlighting the demands of the protesting anganwadi workers and urging the latter to resolve them suitably. Nath’s letter came after he met the protesting workers in his hometown Chhindwara.
Meanwhile, Congress Rajya Sabha member Vivek Tankha also tweeted on the issue. “Yesterday, on the occasion of Ambedkar Jayanti, I had urged CM Shivraj Singh to give justice to anganwadi worker and helper sisters, through the media. Today, the news of the death of an anganwadi worker-sister in Sagar has upset me very much. How many more lives would this government take?” he said.