The government run child care centres in Kashmir are failing to realise their objective of combating child hunger and malnutrition, and, caring for pregnant women and lactating mothers. Aliya Bashir reports.
The Anganwadi (child care) centre in a small rented room on top floor of a dingy mud and brick house in Qaziyaar area of Srinagar’s old city, wears a deserted look. The room is all the centre has for a classroom, playground and store room for the 35 children enrolled in it. And the Qaziyaar centre is not the only Anganwadi centre in Srinagar to run in such pitiable conditions.
Anganwadi is a government sponsored child-care and mother-care centre which caters to children in the 0-6 age group. The word ‘Anganwadi’ means “courtyard shelter” which was started by the Government of India in 1975 as part of the Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) program to combat child hunger and malnutrition.
Among the 35 children enrolled in the Qaziyaar Anganwadi centre there are nine girls. “There is no space for the children to play,” says Bilquess (name changed) an Anganwadi worker. “Most of the children registered with the centre don’t come regularly due to absence of basic facilities. It is also difficult for both the parents as well as children to get to the top floor of the dilapidated building. So they give different excuses to remain absent.”
Official sources say that one third of the 22583 Anganwadi centers across the state lack basic facilities. The centres usually don’t have washrooms besides lack of proper heating facilities. The food stocks for the children’s meals never arrive on time, they add.
Officials of the Social Welfare Department that runs the program say that Rs 700 are provided as rent for each single-room centre under ICDS.
The Anganwadi staff, however, say that children are crammed in a single room and don’t have space for activities, they are supposed to have.
“We, along with the children, feel suffocated in a single room. There should be at least three to four rooms with the necessary infrastructure,” says Irshad Ahmad, an Anganwadi worker in Karan Nagar, Srinagar.
The ICDS reaches to lakhs of children and women living in villages and towns across the state.
Under ICDS, the government is bound to provide six basic services for children up to six years of age, pregnant women and lactating mothers. The services include medical check-ups, immunization, referral services, supplementary feeding, pre-school education, health and nutritional education. However, even some Anganwadi workers are ignorant of the mandate of these centres.
“We don’t know anything about it. No pregnant woman has been benefited from this scheme in our area,” said Nuzhat of Rambagh, who is a helper at an Anganwadi centre. “I am in this centre since last two years. I saw no doctor coming here for the medical check up of children.” She, however, admitted that children’s immunization takes place on time.
Official figures suggest that there are 141 ICDS projects with 25483 sanctioned Anganwadi centres out of which 22583 centres are functional. The centres provide services to approximately 6.19 lakh beneficiaries comprising of 4.98 lakh children and 1.21 lakhs pregnant women and lactating mothers.
The staff posted in most of the Anganwadi centres in Kashmir claimed that the infrastructure has remained the same as it was eight years ago and that there is no heating facility for harsh winters.
“The only change that has taken place over these years is the staff that has increased manifold,” said an Anganwadi worker, wishing not to be named.
An official at the Social Welfare department, not authorized to talk to the media, said the government has approved the construction of 425 Model Anganwadi buildings at a uniform cost of Rs.2.46 lakh, where the central government would provide 75 per cent of the cost and the state has to shell out 25 per cent as its share.
The government have also approved construction of 193 other model Anganwadi centers at an amount of Rs.635.83 lakh, he added.
The scheme primarily aimed at combating child hunger and malnutrition falls short in realising that objective, allege officials associated with ICDS.
“We don’t have proper stock of meals. We get it after a gap of a year and sometimes after 15 months,” says Tabasum, a worker at an Anganwadi centre in Rajouri Kadal. “We lack all basic facilities to attract the children at large. We don’t have books, toys let alone other infrastructure.”
The government is bound, under ICDS, to provide nutritious lunch, pre-school education, toys and play material for better development of the children.
Tabasum says that they hardly receive any kerosene “We have few utensils to cook meals for the children. We have been given two pressure cookers in last two years. However, we did not receive any medicine kit or play well material,” Tabasum says, “I have managed broom, chalk, charts and few toys from my own pocket.”
Anganwadi workers are paid paltry wages – Rs1500 to Rs 1800 (around US$ 35) a month. Even the paltry wages are paid after months of delay.
“We are paid salaries after eight months and sometimes after a year. The callous attitude of authorities dampens my spirit towards work,” Tabasum says.
Moreover, the parents are also unhappy with the Anganwadi centres and are reluctant to send their children to these centres.
“This scheme is fake. They are even unable to give proper care to our children, how can they provide care to pregnant women and lactating mothers,” says Khurshid Ahmed, whose three-year old daughter attends an Anganwadi centre in a downtown locality of Srinagar.
In some areas, people alleged that workers and helpers at Anganwadi centres don’t attend to their duties. “It is very unfortunate. They (Anganwadi workers) don’t work. There is no monitoring of these centres,” says Abdul Qadir, an elderly person in Nowhatta.
Minister for Social Welfare Sakina Itoo said she was personally monitoring all schemes. “We have already formed special teams to conduct a thorough checking of all Anganwadi centers across the State. Whosoever will be found involved in any sort of irregularity will be brought to book,” Itoo said.
