'Ration being provided instead of cooked food'

Q: Take Home Ration money (INR 237/Beneficiary child) has been approved for beneficiaries and is supposed to reach their accounts. Is that the case for Anganwadi Centres under you?

Child Development Programme Officer (CDPO): It is not happening right now. The Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) procedure has not been completed yet because the Aadhar card of the parents and children are not linked to bank accounts. Hence, instead of money, the department is distributing dry ration to the children.

The distribution is being carried out once in 15 days.

Q: Do you now have access to Personal Protective Equipment (such as masks, gloves, sanitisers) and any other thing you may need for yourself or to distribute to the frontline workers?

CDPO: I have it for myself, and these have been provided to people in the office.

However, the department has not provided these to the sevikas and sahayikas.

Q: Anganwadi Workers (AWWs) are expected to cater to pregnant women during the lockdown. How have you briefed Lady Supervisors and the AWWs on their regular tasks and COVID-response work?

CDPO: In the initial days of the lockdown, it was difficult because no one wanted to venture out of their homes. But the situation is better now; ASHA workers and Sevikas are going on house visits regularly.

Sevikas have been given various responsibilities like - supporting household surveys, and house visits to distribute the THR. LS and AWWs are majorly responsible for distributing THR.

Q: Have you received any kind of training to handle pandemic-related tasks?

CDPO: We have not been provided with specific training; we only get instructions from the department. We have received guidelines on COVID-19, though.

A one-day training was conducted for Sevikas where they discussed the guidelines.

This interview was conducted with a Child Development Programme Officer (CDPO) in Purnea, Bihar in Hindi on 15th and 18th May 2020, and has been translated.