ASHA workers who planned to stage a protest at the Chief Minister’s camp office being taken into custody at Dharna Chowk in Vijayawada on Thursday.
| Photo Credit: G.N. RAO
Commissioner of Health and Family Welfare J. Nivas has responded positively to some of the demands made by the Accredited Social Health Activists (ASHAs), said Andhra Pradesh ASHA Workers’ Union’s State general secretary K. Dhana Lakshmi.
Ms. Dhana Lakshmi was reportedly whisked away by the police while coming out of the union’s office in Mangalagiri on February 7 (Wednesday) and taken to Disha Police Station in Guntur where she was detained for nearly 24 hours. She said that she had come to meet Mr. Nivas to discuss the resolution of the demands of the workers.
“He responded positively to our demands for the provision of medical and maternity leaves. He also said that the demands pertaining to hike salaries and retirement benefits woudl be taklen to the notice of the higher officials in the government,” she said.
A response from Mr. Nivas is awaited.
Meanwhile, union leaders and the CITU condemned the alleged police brutality on Ms. Dhana Lakshmi and other ASHAs who were participating in ‘Chalo Vijayawada’ programme on February 8 (Thursday).
Some of them, who were about to start or had already started for Vijayawada to participate in the protest, were held up at their respective places, said CITU State president A.V. Nageswara Rao, adding that he was also detained during a dharna near NRI Hospital in Mangalagiri.
Along with him, the union’s State treasurer A. Kamala, NTR district president Venkateswara Rao and 1,500 ASHAs from seven districts were present at the protest site for more than two hours. All of them were detained, Mr. Nageswara Rao said, adding that some of them were released in the evening.
He said the police told them that they did not have any permission for the programme. “We had sought permission from the police for the ‘Chalo Vijayawada’, but it was not given. Besides, we are staging a dharna peacefully for the rightful demands of ASHAs,” he said.