DD Shakunthala refuses to listen to women’s woes on Women’s Day

DD Shakunthala refuses to listen to women’s woes on Women’s Day

Mangalore Today News Network

Mangalore, March 8, 2012: Shakunthala, the deputy director of the district department of woman and child development, has been severely criticized for failing to receive a memorandum prepared by Anganwadi workers on March 8.

The workers had organized a protest in front of Town Hall where the International Women’s Day was being observed. A protest rally was held from Dr. Ambedkar Circle Jyothi to the DC’s office. Ms. Shankunthala had promised that she would receive their memorandum at Town Hall and had invited the protestors to participate in the Women’s Day celebrations.

 

However, when the protestors gathered outside Town Hall to submit their memorandum, they in for a bitter disappointment. Although they waited for full 2 hours to submit their memorandum, Ms. Shakunthala did not come out to receive it.

Several representatives were sent inside Town Hall to urge the deputy director to come out for a few minutes to receive the memorandum. Finally, when she did come out of Town Hall after 2 hours, the protestors had lost their patience and were unwilling to talk to her. They began shouting slogans against her and said that they will continue fighting for their rights.

 

 

 

Aruna Puttur, the president of the district Anganwadi, said that officers use political power when posting anganvadi workers for non departmental work. In spite of knowing that anganvadi workers play an active role in eliminating problems such as malnourishment, community health problems, and others in rural areas and in spite of the fact that the government has strictly ordered that anganvadi workers are not to be used for non departmental work, the department of woman and child development was pressurizing the workers to perform non departmental duties.

Further, she stated that the workers have been fighting for honorariums for the past two years and urged the government to implement honorariums in the upcoming budget session so that workers can get their honorariums before the fifth of every month.

The workers have also demanded that they should be given the status of government employees, that workers who have served over 35 years must get a monthly pension of Rs. 3000, that the duty timings of workers must be limited to 9:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. daily, and so on. They also urged the government not to use anganvadi workers for non departmental work.

Furious that the deputy director failed to come out of Town Hall to receive their memorandum, the protestors decided not to submit any memorandum to her. Although things turned from bad to worse when some of the protestors began fainting under the hot sun, the protestors continued protesting silently with the police providing security.