Date:15/12/2007 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2007/12/15/stories/2007121553100300.htm

Kerala

Anganwadi workers’ relay fast enters third week

Staff Reporter

SPIRITED PROTEST: Anganwadi workers staging a relay hunger strike in front of the District Collectorate in Malappuram on Friday.

MALAPPURAM: A group of Anganwadi women have been on a relay fast in front of the District Collectorate here since December 1. They are demanding a better deal from the State government, especially an increase in wages and consideration as government employees. But none seems to have heard their wailing.

The agitation of Anganwadi women, staged under the banner of the Kerala State Anganwadi Workers and Helpers Confederation, entered the 14th day on Friday. Dozens of young women working in Anganvadis from across the district took turns under the agitation . Several Ministers, including Chief Minister V.S. Achuthanandan, visited Malappuram in the past two weeks. However, the agitation went unnoticed. The agitating women have decided to stage a hunger strike in front of the Chief Minister’s house in Thiruvananthapuram on the New Year’s Day if the government did not change its attitude to Anganwadi workers.

Confederation State president Haridas Pulpetta said here on Friday that the government’s approach to the Anganwadi workers and their agitation was a challenge towards democracy. He demanded that an amicable solution be found before the festivals of Bakrid and Christmas.

Confederation working president Sarojini Melattoor, general secretary N. Jayasree, and leaders Haseena Edapatta, Sumayya, and Bhasura addressed the gathering.