Government welfare measures should be felt, not announced: Protesting ASHA workers

Thiruvananthapuram: A day after the Kerala government began its 4th anniversary celebrations, the ASHA workers protesting outside the Secretariat on Tuesday said if the administration has done something for the people, the public should feel its benefits, and there is no reason to announce it.

M A Bindu, general secretary of Kerala ASHA Health Workers Association (KAHWA), was referring to the government's anniversary celebrations, as part of which it was listing the public welfare measures taken by it during its four-year rule.

Talking to a reporter here, Bindu alleged that while the government claimed it does not have funds to increase the honorarium of the protesting Accredited Social Health Activist (ASHA) workers by a minimum of Rs 3,000 as an interim measure, it was able to spend huge amounts to hold celebrations.

"If they have done something for the people, the public should be able to feel its benefits. There is no need to go around announcing it at such huge costs," she contended.

She also said that the money being spent was the taxes paid by the common people.

She alleged that the government's stand towards a protest by women was "undemocratic" and therefore, they were going to tell the people across the state about it by holding a protest march from Kasaragod to Thiruvananthapuram.

A group of ASHA workers, led by KAHWA, have been protesting outside the Secretariat for 72 days now, demanding post-retirement benefits and a hike in their honorarium.