Pune: State govt officials have raced against time to roll out the Mukhyamantri Mazhi Ladki Bahin Yojana announced by deputy chief minister and finance minister Ajit Pawar in the 2024-25 state budget. From setting up war rooms, help centres, and WhatsApp groups for technical support, to working 16-hour days , teams from anganwadi sevikas to senior govt officers ensured timely processing of over one crore forms for the scheme to roll out on Saturday at a grand event in Pune’s Shree Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex in Balewadi. Kalpana Pawar, anganwadi sevika from Khopi village in Bhor, went beyond her capacity to ensure that women get the benefit.
Over the last one month, she filled out nearly 200 forms, often working odd hours to get the job done. She said, "Internet connectivity was a big problem. I worked in the mornings in the anganwadi and followed it up with my daily data entry tasks.
I would fill the Ladki Bahin forms late at night." Pawar completed all her work on her cellphone and ran into challenges like uploading photos and documents due to poor connectivity. She created a WhatsApp group for the beneficiaries.
She would call when the connectivity improved as she needed their OTPs. She added, "I would call the women at 2am or 3am because the server was faster during those hours. My family was fed up, but I wanted to help the women.
" Pune District Women & Child Development Officer Jamsing Girase said detailed steps were taken to ensure smooth implementation in Pune d.