ASHA workers launch online letter campaign seeking special package

Mysore/Mysuru: ASHA (Accredited Social Health Activists) workers, who are working overtime as Corona Warriors going door-to-door and collecting data from each member of the house, on Monday launched an online campaign urging the Government to announce a special package for them.

More than 2,000 ASHA workers from different parts of the district took part in the online campaign by sending letters via WhatsApp and e-mail to Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa and Health Minister B. Sriramulu.

Pointing out that there are over 41,000 ASHA workers serving under the Health Department in the State, they expressed disappointment over being left out in the package recently announced by the State Government that covered workers from the unorganised sector.

Highlighting that they are working day and night while risking their own health in the war against the deadly Coronavirus, they claimed that they are the first informants of Corona cases most of the times. 

Maintaining that in some instances they are working without any safety gears such as face masks and sanitisers, they said that with less pay, they were facing a lot of difficulties in running their family. In this backdrop, the Government should announce a special package where all ASHA workers are paid an additional monthly honoraria of Rs.10,000 with retrospective effect from March till the war against COVID-19 ends.