BHOPAL: Asha and Usha workers on Thursday staged demonstration in Bhopal for regularisation and honorarium hike.
Around 25 ASHA-USHA workers, including main leader Laxmi Kaurav, have been arrested. However, Habibganj police have denied any arrest. The administration has been warning them against demonstration in pandemic time. There are 75,000 ASHA-USHA workers in the state and they are on strike from June 1.
They demonstrated at JP Hospital over alleged threat by MoS OPS Bhadauria to remove from job. They demanded Bhadauria should tender an apology for threatening to remove them from job. Bhadauria is district incharge minister of Bhind and Laxmi Kaurav also belong to Bhind. Previously, Kaurav handed over a memorandum to OPS Bhadauria for the fulfilment of demands.
They are demanding fixation of honorarium till regularisation. Rs 18,000 for Asha-Usha workers and Rs 24,000 for their Shahyogini.
State president Vibha Shrivastava said, ìAsha-Usha workers are agitating from June 1 for regularisation and honorarium hike. Their other demands include that the government should bear medical expenses of family members of Asha-Usha workers and other perks and incentives. Similarly, we are demanding Rs 50 lakh ex-gratia in case of deaths of Asha-Usha workers and compassionate ground appointment.î They handed over a memorandum addressing to state government to the collector for fulfilment of demands.
ASP Ankit Jashwal said, "Around 25 Asha-Usha workers have been arrested during the demonstration." However, Habibganj police denied stating that no one has been arrested. TI Habibganj Rakesh Srivastava said that no worker has been arrested.
