In an alleged incident of mistreatment, students had a portion of their meals snatched away from them at an Anganwadi centre in southern India’s Karnataka. The students, as seen in a video, were served eggs, but the protein was taken from them following a photo-op. this has reportedly led to the suspension of two workers.
The incident took place in Gundur village of Koppal district.
Visuals, which have now gone viral, showed a group of students praying with folded hands before consuming their meals. They were led by a woman, who, too, sat with her hands folded. Moments later, the woman stands up and starts collecting the eggs from the students’ plate.
As per reports, Lakshmi, an Anganwadi worker, and Shainaja Begum, a helper, have been suspended following suspicions of fraud in the distribution of eggs to the Anganwadi children. The women and child welfare department officer has issued an order to Anganwadi school workers and staff i, as reported by TV9 Kannada.
Koppal | ಮಕ್ಕಳಿಗೆ ಮೊಟ್ಟೆ ಕೊಟ್ಟು, ನಂತರ ಮೊಟ್ಟೆ ಕಸಿದುಕೊಳ್ಳುವ ವಿಡಿಯೋ ವೈರಲ್ | N18S#koppal #eggs #Anganwadi #News18Kannada pic.twitter.com/AdVDmrEY72
— News18 Kannada (@News18Kannada) August 10, 2024
An Anganwadi is a rural childcare centre in India. The scheme was started by the Indian government in 1975 as part of the Integrated Child Development Services program to combat child hunger and malnutrition. Under the scheme six services namely Supplementary Nutrition, Health & Nutrition Education, Pre-school Education, Immunization, Referral Services and Health Check-up are provided at the Anganwadi Centres (AWCs).
The beneficiaries of the scheme are children 0-6 years old and Pregnant Women & Lactating Mothers. It is Centrally Sponsored Scheme implemented by the States/UTs.
(The article is published under a mutual content partnership arrangement between The Free Press Journal and Connected to India)
