Eggs given for midday meal snatched away from kids after photo ops; 2 angwadi workers suspended in Karnataka: Report

Two Anganwadi workers were suspended in Karnataka after it came to light that they had given eggs to children during a midday meal, but snatched the same away from them soon after a video was made and photos were clicked.

The incident occurred in an Anganwadi school in Karnataka's Koppal, as per a report by TV9 Kannada.

The two workers in question, Lakshmi and Shainaja Begum, were suspended while the women and child welfare department issued an order to the staff at the school as well as Anganwadi workers in general.

The report also notes that a team of judges headed by District Sessions Judge and Chairman of Legal Services Authority C Chandrasekhara visited around 53 Anganwadis in Koppal district, and were shocked to see the conditions of the same.

The report reveals that a number of Anganwadis show more children in their registers than those that are actually enrolled. Moreover, cleanliness is a big issue, with a number of Anganwadi schools lacking basic facilities like doors and toilets.

Many official documents were found written using pencils. When asked, staff revealed that higher-ranking officers had asked them to use pencils. Moreover, the first-aid kit supposed to be present at the Anganwadi was found in the residence of one of the workers.

This is not the first time that such abject conditions of Karnataka Anganwadis have come to light.

In June, Karnataka State Legal Services Authority (KSLSA), Bengaluru had pointed out a number of deficiencies in the state-run Anganwadis.

From lack of a separate kitchen to poor food quality, a number of problems were highlighted after the KSLSA officials held surprise visits to four Anganwadis in Bengaluru in June.

The inspections revealed that these centres lack many basic facilities. For instance, the Anganwadi centre in Sarbande Palya did not have power supply and those in Hari Colony did not have water supply, indicating the lack of basic facilities. 

With DHNS inputs