Caught between the department and bank authority, ASHA workers associated with Mungiakami Primary Health Centre (PHC) of Teliamura sub-division in Tripura are not receiving their pending allowances, sources alleged.
Miffed at non-payment of the allowances for months, the Accredited Social Health Activists (ASHA) workers of the Mungiakami Primary Health Centre (PHC) of Teliamura sub-division held a sit-in-demonstration on Monday.
“We play a crucial role in providing health care services to helpless people, even to those who live in remote hamlets. From pre- and post natal health care services to handling Covid menace including vaccination and implementation of Government scheme, ASHA workers remain an integral part of rural health care”, an ASHA worker of the PHC said during the sit-in demonstration.
At least 90 ASHA workers of the PHC took part in the sit-in-demonstration and alleged that for the last two months they were not receiving their allowances. They also alleged that despite their uninterrupted service especially during the COVID pandemic, the government is depriving them of their minimum allowance.
Agitating ASHA workers said, “This is very unfortunate that despite our tireless efforts in providing health services, the government is depriving us of our deserving allowance. We demand the government and the concerned authority to release our pending allowances..”
Meanwhile, on being asked the officers of the concerned health department held the bank responsible for the delay in paying the allowances of the ASHA workers.
According to the concerned officers, the payment order for three-month pending wages of the ASHA workers was given to the concerned bank, but the bank had not yet released the payment. Apart from this, under the COVID scheme, the ASHA workers who had achieved 60 pc of the assigned target, shall get their remuneration allowance and the rest who could not achieve shall not be paid as per the policy of the government.