Hundreds of ASHA workers on Thursday staged a protest in front of the joint director of health services office in Dibrugarh seeking fulfillment of their various demands. The ASHA workers who were appointed in 2005 are paid a monthly remuneration of Rs 3,000. There are around 33,000 ASHA workers in the state and they have been assisting the government in the fight against Covid-19 pandemic as frontline workers. The state government has been ignoring the issues faced by them. The Rs 12,000 bonus announced by the government in recognition of their good services during the Covid-19 pandemic is yet to be disbursed to the ASHA workers.The ASHA workers have been seeking permanent appointment similar to the workers under the National Health Mission, minimum monthly salary of Rs 10,000, clearance of arrears in salary which is pending from 2013 to 2017, allottment of health cards to every ASHA worker under Atal Amrit Yojana and Ayushman Bharat Yojana, and withdraw the order to retire ASHA workers above 60 years.
