Heavy workload, low remuneration mark a day in the life of an anganwadi worker

Heavy_workload_low_remuneration_mark_a_day_in_the_life_of_an_anganwadi_worker

<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 1.6;"><i style="font-size: 20px; font-family: Charter;">Women from this nondescript village near Pune in Maharashtra unlock the opportunities to get educated and employed, thanks to the launch of bus services to the city</i><span style="font-size: 20px; font-family: Charter;">&nbsp;</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 1.6;"><font face="Charter"><span style="font-size: 20px;"><br></span></font></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 1.6;"><font face="Charter"><span style="font-size: 20px;">For the people of Nasrapur village, their gateway to education, employment and empowerment is just a bus ride away. Located 36 km from Pune city, Nasrapur is a thriving example of how mobility can improve the quality of life.&nbsp;</span></font><span style="font-family: Charter; font-size: 20px;">Students, labourers, working women and senior citizens form part of the burgeoning crowd, whose dreams and aspirations are dependent on the bus service. </span><span style="font-family: Charter; font-size: 20px;">Here are some insights from the conversations with the daily commuters, who are keen to make new friends and refresh old ties during the two hour&nbsp;travel to Pune.</span></p><div class="embed-container" align="center" style="line-height: 1;"><img src="https://assets.ramen.101reporters.com/inpic/2023/9/101RPT1744116/story_photos_(default)_(23).jpg" id="1790352" style="width: 100%;" title=""><span style="color: rgb(99, 99, 99); font-family: Charter;">(Above) Tickets for different long-distance bus routes mentioning their respective prices; (below)&nbsp;</span><font color="#636363" face="Charter">A board at Katraj bus depot with information about bus routes and schedule&nbsp;</font><span style="color: rgb(99, 99, 99); font-family: Charter;">&nbsp;(Photo - Rutuja&nbsp;</span><font color="#636363" face="Charter">Chougale</font><span style="color: rgb(99, 99, 99); font-family: Charter;">, 101Reporters)</span><img src="https://assets.ramen.101reporters.com/inpic/2023/9/101RPT1744116/story_photos_(default)_(24).jpg" id="1790353" title="" style="width: 100%;">&nbsp;</div><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 1.6;"><font face="Charter"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-size: 20px;">"</span><span style="font-size: 20px;">Ten years ago, there was only one state transport bus to Pune from our village. The journey in itself was a very unpleasant experience due to the poor condition of buses, lack of good roads and the resulting fear of accidents," says Swati Zende (32),&nbsp;who was a student then. </span></span><span style="font-size: 20px;">Girls who travelled to the city for education and job opportunities preferred hostel accommodation over the uncertainty and insecurity attached to public transport back then.&nbsp;Parents were also reluctant to send their children for higher studies, while women hardly thought of securing a job after education. Accessing health facilities was also difficult. All these problems remained until&nbsp;</span></font><span style="font-family: Charter; font-size: 20px;">public transport service under</span><span style="font-size: 20px; font-family: Charter;">&nbsp;Pune Mahanagar Parivahan Mahamandal Ltd (PMPML) began.</span></p><div class="embed-container" align="center" style="line-height: 1;"><img src="https://assets.ramen.101reporters.com/inpic/2023/9/101RPT1744116/story_photos_(default)_(18).jpg" id="1790332" style="width: 100%;" title=""><span style="color: rgb(99, 99, 99); font-family: Charter;">Girls and women using PMPML services for their daily commute to schools and workplaces (Photo - Rutuja&nbsp;</span><font color="#636363" face="Charter">Chougale</font><span style="color: rgb(99, 99, 99); font-family: Charter;">, 101Reporters)</span></div><div class="embed-container" align="center"><img src="https://assets.ramen.101reporters.com/inpic/2023/9/101RPT1744116/10.jpg" id="1795982" title="" style="width: 100%;"></div><div class="embed-container" align="center" style="line-height: 1;"><span style="color: rgb(99, 99, 99); font-family: Charter;"><br></span></div><div class="embed-container" align="center" style="line-height: 1;"><img src="https://assets.ramen.101reporters.com/inpic/2023/9/101RPT1744116/story_photos_(default)_(19).jpg" id="1790334" style="width: 100%; outline: red dashed 1px;" title=""><span style="color: rgb(99, 99, 99); font-family: Charter;">Students take the bus to reach their schools every day (Photo - Rutuja&nbsp;</span><font color="#636363" face="Charter">Chougale</font><span style="color: rgb(99, 99, 99); font-family: Charter;">, 101Reporters)</span></div><div class="embed-container" align="center" style="line-height: 1;"><span style="color: rgb(99, 99, 99); font-family: Charter;"><br></span></div><div class="embed-container" align="center" style="text-align: left; line-height: 1.6;"><font face="Charter"><span style="font-size: 20px;">Things began to fall in place when the residents of Bhor and Nasrapur approached the state government for an improvement in public transport facilities. After several meetings with local political representatives and PMPML employees over the course of 2020-2021, a decision to start new bus routes&nbsp;</span></font><span style="font-family: Charter; font-size: 20px;">was taken</span><span style="font-size: 20px; font-family: Charter;">. "When these buses began to ply, parents encouraged students to commute daily instead of staying in hostels. The buses were easy on the pocket as PMPML offered student passes. Women and elderly also got the benefits of passes that offered travel at subsidised rates," Zende informs</span><span style="font-size: 20px; font-family: Charter;">.&nbsp;</span></div><div class="embed-container" align="center" style="line-height: 1;"><img src="https://assets.ramen.101reporters.com/inpic/2023/9/101RPT1744116/story_photos_(default)_(20).jpg" id="1790349" style="width: 100%;" title=""><span style="color: rgb(99, 99, 99); font-family: Charter;">&nbsp;Passengers alighting&nbsp;</span><span style="color: rgb(99, 99, 99); font-family: Charter;">at Vinzar bus stop from&nbsp;</span><span style="color: rgb(99, 99, 99); font-family: Charter;">bus no 296 that runs with a regular frequency on the Katraj-Vinzar route via Nasrapur (Photo - Rutuja&nbsp;</span><font color="#636363" face="Charter">Chougale</font><span style="color: rgb(99, 99, 99); font-family: Charter;">, 101Reporters)</span></div><div class="embed-container" align="center" style="line-height: 1;"><span style="color: rgb(99, 99, 99); font-family: Charter;"><br></span></div><div class="embed-container" align="center"><img src="https://assets.ramen.101reporters.com/inpic/2023/9/101RPT1744116/6.jpg" id="1795985" title="" style="width: 100%;"></div><div class="embed-container" align="center" style="line-height: 1;"><span style="color: rgb(99, 99, 99); font-family: Charter;">Some bus stops are arbitrary points on the road (above) while others are in pretty rundown condition&nbsp;</span><font color="#636363" face="Charter">(Photo - Rutuja Chougale, 101Reporters)</font></div><div class="embed-container" align="center"><img src="https://assets.ramen.101reporters.com/inpic/2023/9/101RPT1744116/9.jpg" id="1795988" title="" style="width: 100%;"></div><div class="embed-container" align="center" style="line-height: 1;"><font color="#636363" face="Charter">A man finds a spot to rest in a crowded bus (Photo - Rutuja Chougale, 101Reporters)</font></div><div class="embed-container" align="center" style="line-height: 1;"><img src="https://assets.ramen.101reporters.com/inpic/2023/9/101RPT1744116/story_photos_(default)_(21).jpg" id="1790350" style="width: 100%;" title=""><span style="color: rgb(99, 99, 99); font-family: Charter;">A ticket checker interacting with a group of senior citizens travelling on the bus (Photo - Rutuja&nbsp;</span><font color="#636363" face="Charter">Chougale</font><span style="color: rgb(99, 99, 99); font-family: Charter;">, 101Reporters)</span></div><div class="embed-container" align="center"><img src="https://assets.ramen.101reporters.com/inpic/2023/9/101RPT1744116/untitled_design_(3).jpg" id="1795983" title="" style="width: 100%;"></div><div class="embed-container" align="center" style="line-height: 1;"><span style="color: rgb(99, 99, 99); font-family: Charter;"><br></span></div><div class="embed-container" align="center" style="line-height: 1;"><img src="https://assets.ramen.101reporters.com/inpic/2023/9/101RPT1744116/story_photos_(default)_(22).jpg" id="1790351" style="width: 100%;" title=""><span style="font-family: Charter;"><font color="#636363">A crowded bus in the evening, as everyone is heading home (Photo - Rutuja&nbsp;</font></span><font color="#636363" face="Charter">Chougale</font><span style="color: rgb(99, 99, 99); font-family: Charter;">, 101Reporters)</span></div><div class="embed-container" align="center" style="text-align: left; line-height: 1.6;"><font face="Charter"><span style="font-size: 20px;">Today, women of Narsapur need not worry if they are travelling late. Even at 9 pm, they can travel alone, which was something very uncommon a decade ago.&nbsp;Though the frequency has improved, the buses are still jam-packed in mornings and evenings. Looking at the crowded buses, one can easily say that more women are enjoying the benefits of empowerment. And it encompasses not just students or working women, but even daily wage labourers and housemaids. No wonder, why&nbsp;</span></font><span style="font-family: Charter; font-size: 20px;">Chris Gethard compared&nbsp;</span><span style="font-size: 20px; font-family: Charter;">public transport with a magnifying glass that shows civilisation uр close.</span></div><div class="embed-container" align="center"><img src="https://assets.ramen.101reporters.com/inpic/2023/9/101RPT1744116/5.jpg" id="1795984" title="" style="width: 100%;"><span style="color: rgb(99, 99, 99); font-family: Charter;">In the absence of adequate bus services, such private vans (above) and shared autos step in to fill the void&nbsp;</span><font color="#636363" face="Charter">(Photo - Rutuja Chougale, 101Reporters)</font></div><div class="embed-container" align="center"><img src="https://assets.ramen.101reporters.com/inpic/2023/9/101RPT1744116/8.jpg" id="1795987" title="" style="width: 100%;"></div><div class="embed-container" align="center"><font color="#636363" face="Charter"><br></font></div><div class="embed-container" align="center" style="text-align: left; line-height: 1.6;"><br></div><div class="embed-container" align="center" style="text-align: left; line-height: 1.6;"><span style="font-size: 20px; font-family: Charter;"><i>Edited by&nbsp;Pranoti Abhyankar</i></span></div><div class="embed-container" align="center" style="text-align: left; line-height: 1.6;"><span style="font-size: 20px; font-family: Charter;"><i>Cover Photo - A picture from the reporter's journey (Photo - Rutuja&nbsp;</i></span><font face="Charter"><span style="font-size: 20px;"><i>Chougale</i></span></font><i style="font-family: Charter; font-size: 20px;">, 101Reporters)</i></div>