At least 40 unmarried girls from two communities in Malhiya village, Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, were mistakenly registered as pregnant mothers under the Ministry of Women and Child Development’s nutrition tracker program. The error came to light when the girls began receiving messages that suggested they were eligible for maternal health and nutritional services.
The messages, which were sent to the girls under the program, indicated they were breastfeeding mothers and entitled to benefits such as hot meals, health consultations, and child health monitoring from the local anganwadi center. One message read: “Welcome to ‘Poshan Tracker’. As a breastfeeding mother, you can avail services like hot cooked meals, ration, counselling, child health monitoring, and breastfeeding support through home visits from Anganwadi Centre.”
Recipients of the messages, including Rekha Sahani and Rakhi Sahani, were informed that their ‘children’ had been successfully registered in the nutrition tracker, and they were encouraged to call a helpline for more assistance. One of the messages even congratulated Rekha Sahani, saying, “Congratulations Rekha Sahani! Your child, Pihu, is successfully registered in the nutrition tracker.”
The affected women, who belong to the Sahni and Mallein bastis of Malhiya village, raised the issue with the village head, Amit Patel. Shocked by the error, Patel told India Today TV that the girls had only intended to submit information for voter ID updates, not for the maternal health registration. Upon questioning the local Anganwadi worker, Patel was initially told that the mistake was an accidental error.
Patel, however, expressed concern over how such a significant mistake could impact 35 to 40 people and demanded an investigation into the operations of the local Anganwadi center. He also pointed out that nutritional support may not be reaching those who truly need it.
In response to the incident, Chief Development Officer (CDO) Himanshu Nagpal confirmed that the registration error had occurred. According to Nagpal, the mix-up happened when the Anganwadi worker, who also serves as a Booth Level Officer (BLO) for voter registration, accidentally mixed up forms for voter registration and the nutrition program.
The error was discovered after the affected individuals filed complaints, and the incorrect data was removed from the system. Preliminary investigations revealed that no nutritional benefits or services had been provided to the wrongly registered individuals.
The Anganwadi worker has been issued a notice, and further investigations are underway to ensure corrective action is taken.
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