Claiming that they are under immense pressure due to unrealistic deadlines and targets, anganwadi workers across Karnataka have written to the Election Commission of India (ECI) seeking exemption from Block Level Officer (BLO) duties. They argued that the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls has disrupted their main responsibilities of caring for children, pregnant women and lactating mothers. 

The workers said they are being assigned strict voter verification of targets without adequate training on the revised procedures and are being threatened with suspension or other disciplinary action if the targets are not met. 

“The pressure to complete electoral roll revision within tight deadlines has created a situation where anganwadi workers are being forced to prioritise SIR-related work over their primary responsibilities at anganwadi centres. However, children continue to attend the centres every day and cannot be left unattended. As a result, workers are struggling to balance both responsibilities and are unable to meet the targets set for SIR work,” said S. Varalakshmi, State President of the Karnataka State Anganwadi Employees’ Association. 

The workers also staged a protest at Freedom Park on Wednesday. They said that the pressure has become so severe that thousands of workers have received warning notices threatening suspension, and many others are considering resignation because of the mental stress associated with the work.  

They also raised concerns related to voter documentation. The workers argued that in many cases, applicants are unable to produce the documents being sought during the SIR process, particularly women who have moved after marriage from another district or State. Workers claimed that local officials are pressuring them to somehow complete the documentation process to meet targets. “Workers are being placed in a position where they are expected to meet targets but may later be held personally liable for discrepancies,” the workers said.  

Adding to this, workers said they are already burdened with multiple responsibilities under the Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) programme. These include identifying and treating malnutrition among children below six years, monitoring the health of pregnant and lactating women, conducting home visits, maintaining records and updating beneficiary data through the Poshan Tracker mobile application. Since the introduction of digital monitoring systems and facial recognition-based attendance, workers are spending six to seven hours a day on ICDS-related work alone, they said. 

“If a child is injured or any untoward incident occurs while the worker is away on BLO duty, she will be held responsible,” the workers argued.

The workers further highlighted difficulties such as poor internet connectivity, lack of proper mobile phones, inadequate data allowances and repeated meetings conducted by election officials. They lamented that many times a day, workers are required to travel to panchayat and taluk offices just to upload data because network connectivity is unavailable in their villages.

Staff shortages within the Anganwadi system have worsened the situation. Workers claimed that thousands of Anganwadi worker and helper posts remain vacant across Karnataka, forcing many workers to manage additional centres. At the same time, some BLOs have been assigned areas beyond their own Anganwadi jurisdiction, with certain workers covering multiple villages.