ASHA workers protest in Bengaluru demanding hike in honorarium
The Hindu
ASHA workers are demanding a fixed monthly honorarium of ₹12,000
Demanding a hike in the monthly honorarium and disbursal of dues of three months, ASHA workers under the ambit of the BBMP and Bangalore Urban district staged a protest at Freedom Park in Bengaluru on December 21.
The workers were led by the Karnataka Rajya Samyuktha ASHA Karyakarteyara Sangha. affiliated to the AIUTUC..
Addressing the gathering, AIUTUC State vice-president K.V. Bhat said that the government has failed in its duty as it is busy implementing schemes only for electoral benefits. “It has done the least to uplift or listen to the woes of those working under those schemes. Apart from their usual pre-maternity and post-natal responsibilities, the ASHA workers are being deployed in almost all health-related programmes, elections or any small or large programmes driven by the government. But, they are repeatedly made to hit the streets for their wages and other issues,” he said.
Rama T.C. from the ASHA Union demanded that the government fix a monthly honorarium of ₹12,000 for ASHA workers. “This is a long-standing demand. Apart from this, the main predicament for ASHA workers lies with the Reproductive and Health Centre (RCH) portal, which has become a conundrum as it is leading to irregular remission of their incentives. A fixed honorarium of ₹12,000 will eliminate the need to repeatedly update or upload their work in the portal,” she said.
“We are judges and therefore, cannot act like Mughals of a bygone era ... the writ courts in the guise of doing justice cannot transcend the barriers of law,” the High Court of Karnataka observed while setting aside an order of a single judge, who in 2016 had extended the lease of a public premises allotted to a physically challenged person to 20 years contrary to 12-year period stipulated in the law.
The High Court of Karnataka on Monday declined to interfere, at present, in the investigation against a Bharatiya Janata Party worker, who is among the accused persons facing charges of circulating obscene clips, related to “morphed” images and videos clips related to Prajwal Revanna, former Hassan MP, in public domain through pen drives and other modes.