Asha workers block the road outside the Secretariat in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, as part of their protest on Monday (March 17, 2025)
| Photo Credit: NIRMAL HARINDRAN
Accredited Social Health Activists (ASHAs) in Kerala, whose 38-day-old agitation for fair remuneration has been making headlines at the national level, launched an intense phase of their agitation on Thursday (March 20, 2025) when they began an indefinite hunger strike in front of the government Secretariat in Thiruvananthapuram.
ASHAs, under the banner of Kerala ASHA Health Workers’ Association (KAHWA), resorted to the hunger strike after two rounds of talks with the National Health Mission (NHM) authorities and Health Minister Veena George on Wednesday failed.
On Thursday, three KAHWA leaders – M.A. Bindu, Thankamani and R. Sheeja — launched their indefinite hunger strike at 11 a.m.
Those who rallied behind the protesters on Thursday included senior Congress leaders Ramesh Chennithala and V.M. Sudheeran, Communist Marxist Party (CMP) leader C.P. John, former MLA Joseph M. Puthussery, among others
Veena George in Delhi
Meanwhile, Health Minister Veena George, who had held a round of discussions with KAHWA on Wednesday, has flown to New Delhi in a bid to meet Union Health Minister J.P. Nadda.
Ms. George told mediapersons who met her in New Delhi that she would be meeting a Cuba delegation for a discussion on the health sector.
She added that she was seeking an appointment with Mr. Nadda and that she hoped to raise several issues of the State, including Kerala’s demand for an AIIMS-like institution, approval for new government medical colleges at Wayanad and Kasaragod and ASHAs’ agitation.
She said that the Centre had a “key role to play” in resolving the stalemate with ASHAs, as “the scheme is a Central government one.”
Published – March 20, 2025 02:08 pm IST