Thousands of ASHA workers join ‘Chalo Assembly’ protest

Thousands of ASHA workers participated in a ‘Chalo Assembly’ protest in Hyderabad, demanding higher salaries, job security and PF/ESI benefits. The demonstration turned tense after police attempted to disperse the protesters, while several union leaders were detained preventively.

Hyderabad: Defying police restrictions, preventive arrests and stringent barricades, thousands of ASHA (Accredited Social Health Activist) workers from the State took part in the ‘Chalo Assembly’ protest on Tuesday.

The demonstration, organised under the banner of the CITU ASHA Union, began with a massive rally from Domalguda culminating in a sit-in protest and heated confrontation with police forces near the Indira Park signal.

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The ASHA workers, who took up the protests coinciding with the ongoing Assembly, raised slogans demanding a fixed monthly salary of Rs 18,000, job security, and PF/ESI benefits. The protestors condemned the police crackdown and raised slogans against the State government.

The protest turned tense as police personnel attempted to disperse the crowd, leading to pushing, shoving, and minor injuries among the workers, with some participants fainting during the intense scuffle before arrests were made.

The police earlier also executed preventive arrests of key trade union leaders, including CITU State General Secretary Paladugu Bhaskar, vice president SV Ramana, and several ASHA union representatives across various districts.

“The State government claims to run ‘Praja Palana,’ but they suppress peaceful democratic assemblies. If the government fails to address our demands before the conclusion of the Assembly, we will launch an indefinite strike,” State ASHA union President P Jayalakshmi said.