UP Anganwadi Staff Gets Notice For Skipping Work. She Died 18 Months Ago

An anganwadi worker in Uttar Pradesh's Mahoba district, who died 18 months back, has been showcaused for not coming to work and threatened that she would be sacked.

The notice issued to Parvati has shocked her family members, who say they submitted a death certificate to the authorities shortly after she died and cannot understand how this notice was issued.

According to her family members, 49-year-old Parvati died on November 1, 2024. Her husband, Kishunlal, said he submitted the death certificate to the state Women and Child Development Department within eight days of Parvati's death.

Now, after 18 months, Kishunlal received a notice. The document, signed by Child Development Project Officer Yasmeen Jahan, states that the anganwadi centre was found shut during inspection. It says that children in the 3-6 years age group were being deprived of pre-elementary education, and that Parvati had also not updated data on Poshan Tracker, which the Centre uses to monitor whether children at anganwadi centres are being served cooked meals as part of the midday meal programme.

Kishunlal and others in the family are stunned by the mismanagement and apathy that led to this notice. Parvati's son, Mahesh, said, "I will take this notice and go to the heavens. There, I will ask my mother why she is not going to work for the 18 months."

The notice has raised another question. Family members and villagers are wondering: if Parvati is still on the rolls, who is pocketing the honorarium she received every month? They are also surprised how state authorities were clueless about an employee's death for 18 months.

Yasmeen Jahan, the Child Development Project Officer who issued the notice, said she has committed no mistake. "I found her absent during inspection and issued a notice. I have made no mistake. If she is dead, then the anganwadi manager would respond. This issue is being blown out of proportion," she said.

Parvati's family members have, meanwhile, decided to lodge a complaint with the authorities.

Inputs by Irfan Khan Pathan