Accredited Social Health Activists to launch State-wide protest on August 12

The Karnataka State United ASHA Workers Federation (KSUAWF) affiliated to All India United Trade Union Centre (AIUTUC) has decided to stay off duty for three days while staging a day-and-night State-wide protest from August 12.

State federation president K. Somashekar Yadgiri addressing a press conference in Kalaburagi on Wednesday said that the nearly 42,000 ASHAs across the State will stay off duty and stage a day-and-night protest outside the Deputy Commissioner’s office in their respective districts from August 12.

Mr. Yadgiri demanded that the government pay a fixed honorarium of ₹10,000 per month for ASHAs.

In January 2025, the State-wide protest by ASHAs was withdrawn after Chief Minister Siddaramaiah announced revising honorarium to ₹10,000 from April. But the State government has continued to ignore and failed to address their demands even after five months.

Mr. Yadgiri criticized the State government’s idea to appoint one ASHA per 2,000 population against the existing standard being one ASHA per 1,000 people. He also opposed the removal of additional ASHAs as they are deemed essential for healthcare access and community support.

The ASHAs play a crucial role in health awareness and in implementing healthcare programmes introduced by both the State and Central governments. In fact, they are the first point of contact for health services in rural areas, he said.

Their demands also include paying matching incentives and creating a corpus fund for the welfare of ASHAs.