Manipur Congress demands pending payment for anganwadi, mid-day meal workers

Our Correspondent
Imphal, April 9 (EMN): The Congress party in Manipur on Saturday demanded payment of 10 months pending honorarium for Anganwadi workers and 19 months pending honorarium for the mid-day meal cooks in the state.

Addressing a press conference in Imphal, vice president of Manipur Pradesh Congress Committee L Tilotama said Anganwadi workers in the state were not getting their 10 months honorarium even though they are utilised in various workplaces. The president of the Mahila Congress Mutum Sarma was also present during the press conference.

‘Even in the recently concluded Manipur assembly elections, Anganwadi workers were utilised from early morning till night. They also took the responsibilities of administering polio drops to children by visiting centres and homes despite their meagre honorarium,’ the leader said.

Terming Anganwadi workers as multi-taskers, Congress leader Tiolotama said they are paid just INR 3500 per month as honorarium.

‘If we’re not mistaken, prior to the recent election, the state chief minister had once promised to pay the honorarium for Anganwadi workers at the level of states like Gujarat, Delhi and Goa,’ Tiolotama said.

The Congress leader also demanded immediate payment of pending honorarium for mid-day meal cooks. According to Tilotama, the monthly honorarium for mid-day meal cooks is just INR 1000 per month.

Recently, the Anganwadi workers and helpers staged a protest against non-disbursal of their wages near Imphal. According to reports, there are around 11,318 Anganwadi workers in Manipur.

 Anganwadi services are a centrally sponsored scheme implemented by states/UTs with an objective to improve the nutritional and health status of children in the age group of 0-6 years.