No place to feed her son, corporator plans proposal for babycare room in BMC HQ
Due to the lack of a baby care room in the civic headquarters, Kini (26), a first-time corporator from Manori ward No. 32, has been compelled to feed her son Sanchez in the security guard’s cabin and even on the staircase of the building at times
4 min read
Congress corporator Steffi Kini with her son. Express
Member of European Parliament Licia Ronzulli hit headlines across the world a few years ago when she attended a plenary session carrying her 44-day-old baby in a sling. Closer home, Congress corporator Steffi Kini has been struggling to find a place to breastfeed her eight-month-old son in the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) headquarters. While councillors debate over the city’s development, Kini has to juggle between the meetings in the corporation hall on the first floor and her baby, being attended to by her mother-in-law, on the ground floor.
Due to the lack of a baby care room in the civic headquarters, Kini (26), a first-time corporator from Manori ward No. 32, has been compelled to feed her son Sanchez in the security guard’s cabin and even on the staircase of the building at times. Kini said, “When I was new, I had no idea whom to approach. I used to ask the security guards to let me feed my baby in their cabin. I have even fed him on the staircase or in the women’s rest-room. Luckily, now that Ravi Raja has been elected as the opposition leader in the BMC, he has been given a cabin. I now use that cabin and the party office to feed my son.”
Kini is planning to move a proposal in the civic body to have a baby care room near the women’s washrooms, to help lactating mothers working at the civic heardquarters.“The baby care room will be beneficial not only for me, but for other corporators and BMC staffers too. The house meetings often do not begin on time. So we have to keep waiting in the party office,” she said.
When she gets Sanchez to the BMC for meetings, Kini’s husband Mario Gracious or mother-in-law Judo attend to him outside the civic house. “It is because of My mother in-law and Mario that I am able to concentrate on my responsibility as a corporator and serve the people who voted for me. But if Sanchez starts crying, I have to move out of the meeting to feed him. When I go to meet residents of my ward, I take him along.” Judo makes the trip from Manori to Fort to support Kini.
“I am happy to support my daughter-in-law. People of Malwani- Manori voted for her. She has to represent them in the BMC. Whenever Steffi is in the meeting at BMC, I take Sanchez around the building or just pull a chair near the security guards’ desk and sit there, trying to entertain him,” said Judo Gracious.
“It takes nearly two-and-a-half hours to reach the BMC headquarters from Manori. By the time we reach, Sanchez gets tired. That’s why there should be a baby care room on the civic body premises,” said Kini.
The BMC had planned to set up a creche at its headquarters in 2006. A circular to that effect was issued by the then commissioner Jairaj Phatak, requesting women employees interested in bringing their children to work to register for the creche service. “None among the several hundred women employees came forward to avail the service,” said a senior official from the general administration department of the civic body.
dipti.singh@expressindia.com
You May Like
Photos
