The indefinite protest by Accredited Social Health Activists (ASHA) entered the second day on Friday, with thousands of community health workers staying put at the Freedom Park in the city.
State Health Minister K.R. Ramesh Kumar has called the ASHA representatives for a meeting to discuss their issues at Vikasa Soudha at 3 p.m. today. He is also likely to address them late in the afternoon at the protest venue.
The ASHAs want a fixed monthly honorarium and abolition of ASHA Soft, the Centre’s online payment system. The system which helps the Health Department capture beneficiary-wise details of services given by ASHAs to the community, and also ensures online payments to their bank accounts, is making life harder for them, the protesters said on Thursday. Despite a Government Order sanctioning a fixed honorarium of ₹5,000 to ASHAs with some conditions by clubbing various incentives, the workers rejected it saying it was just an eyewash and that they would be earning less than what they are already getting as incentives.
