A Women and Child Development (WCD) department order sanctioning transition of official SIM connection of anganwadi workers from the current service provider to an alternative telecom service providers is not enough, say anganwadi workers. According to the decision, taken on the basis of a letter to the government from WCD Director V. Vigneshwari, 27,296 connections would be transitioned from the current service provider, while 5,819 connections would be retained in areas with adequate coverage.

This follows anganwadi workers reporting persistent network issues at the field level. A comprehensive State-wide survey was conducted across the 33,115 anganwadis to evaluate network availability and tariff comparative costs before the order was issued.

However, the main problem of outdated phones remains unaddressed, say anganwadi workers. The Poshan Tracker app does not get downloaded on government-issued phones, allege anganwadi workers. The app keeps getting updated versions, and the latest does not get downloaded on the phones that were provided to them a couple of years ago, they say.

“Every activity at the anganwadi has to be uploaded through the app. These include daily operations such as recording the opening status of anganwadis, distribution of morning snacks and hot cooked meals under the Supplementary Nutrition Programme, pre-school attendance, pre-school activities, growth monitoring of children, home visits, and take-home ration (THR) distribution via the facial recognition system (FRS),” says an anganwadi worker.

With the official phones not of much use, the app is downloaded by the workers on personal phones. However, since these contain personal data besides the app, these phones hang repeatedly. “If the app has to function, all personal data and apps such as WhatsApp have to be removed from our phones,” rues an anganwadi worker.

Then there are the video classes and pdfs that the anganwadi workers have to watch as part of early childhood care and education, point out the workers. Even the allowance for recharging the phones is delayed, says a worker.

The anganwadi workers say they had heard reports that funds had been received by the government for providing new smartphones but they are still waiting for those. In fact, what is required are tablets to facilitate data upload, they say.

Krishna Veni G. Sharma, State president of the Kerala Anganvadi and Creche Workers’ Union (INTUC), says more than internet connectivity, the outdated phones that the workers were provided was the main issue. She said the union had spoken to Minister for Women and Child Development Bindhu Krishna about the need for tablets for anganwadi workers and had been assured that a decision would be taken regarding the demand before Onam. They would again try to bring it to the Minister’s attention at the union’s upcoming State committee.