Outside CM Arvind Kejriwal’s house on Wednesday. Express photo by Amit Mehra
On a hot Wednesday afternoon, 30-year-old Poonam wipes the sweat from her forehead and raises slogans even when her throat is hoarse. She, however, refuses to drink water. One of the anganwadi workers outside CM Arvind Kejriwal’s house on the 50th day of the protest, she says she has nowhere to relieve herself.
Anganwadi workers and helpers have been protesting outside Kejriwal’s house demanding an increase in honourarium, health insurance and pension after retirement among others. “Workers get Rs 5,000 per month and helpers get Rs 2,500 per month for working six days a week… How do we run our homes?” says 33-year-old worker Shashi from Dwarka Mod.
Apart from the commute cost — between Rs 50-Rs 150 — most complain about the lack of toilets. “We go to a park or behind a bus stop. It’s insulting… but what option do we have? The authorities don’t allow us a portable toilet… no one cares,” says Rajni (37), who reaches the protest venue from Shiv Vihar at 9 am and stays until 5 pm.
Anganwadis in the city fulfil a crucial gap in childcare, providing early childhood education and supplementary nutrition to children up to six years and nursing mothers. With the anganwadi strike on for the past 50 days, the centres are shut and children are at home.
On the 50th day of the protest — which fell on the same day as Kejriwal’s birthday — hundreds of workers and helpers sit on the road, laughing as a member of the Delhi State Anganwadi Workers and Helpers Union dresses up like the CM — complete with a muffler over the AAP topi, glasses and a painted mustache. A short skit takes potshots at the happenings inside the Vidhan Sabha, at Kejriwal and the central government.
For 35-year-old Ritu Rani, a worker from Trilokpuri, “the statements of the State and the Centre about women’s safety and respecting women are irritating…” “Are we not women? Where is the sympathy for us?”
A government spokesperson said, “The issues pertaining to increasing their monthly honourarium have been taken care of. But even though the file was sent to the L-G well before the announcement of the Bawana election, some officials and the L-G’s office sat on the file. Now model code of conduct is in place and the issue is stuck,” he said.
Officials added changes in insurance, pension etc, mandated a “change in the Act” which “needs to be done by the Centre”.
