Reported by Mrinal Banik
Agartala: Tripura Social Welfare and Social Education Minister Tinku Roy on Tuesday warned of action against Anganwadi workers who close their centres or neglect official duties to participate in protests.
Roy said the government would not tolerate Anganwadi centres remaining closed during working hours for participation in protests. He said necessary action would be taken if complaints of such conduct were established.
He was speaking at a review meeting of the Social Welfare and Social Education Department at the Civil Secretariat in Agartala. The meeting reviewed the progress of various development programmes and welfare schemes and discussed demands raised by Anganwadi workers.
Roy acknowledged that the workers had several grievances and had submitted their demands to the government in writing on multiple occasions. He said the government was considering their issues.
However, he said participation in protests could not come at the expense of official duties.
Anganwadi centres provide services to children and mothers, he said, adding that disruption of their functioning would be viewed seriously.
Roy said officials had been directed to take necessary action if complaints were received about centres being kept closed for participation in protests.
At the same time, he said the government would seek to address the workers’ grievances through discussions while ensuring that services continued without disruption.
The minister however, did not specify the nature of the action that could be taken against workers found to have neglected their duties.
The remarks came amid protests by several bodies of Anganwadi workers over various service-related demands.