BENGALURU: The state government has not paid the honorarium to ASHA workers for the last three months and it should be released immediately, said senior JDS leader and former chief minister H D Kumaraswamy on Sunday.
Last year, Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa had announced an incentive of Rs 3,000 to ASHA workers as part of the Covid financial aid package during the first wave.
Kumaraswamy’s appeal came after an ASHA worker stopped Union Minister for Chemicals and Fertilisers D V Sadananda Gowda on Sunday, and pleaded with him to get the pending amount released.
The ASHA worker told the minister that without the money, they are finding it tough to run their families.
“Hardly 50 per cent of ASHA workers have received the honorarium. So far, 16 workers have lost their lives battling Covid, but the government has paid a compensation of Rs 50 lakh to only one, while forgetting others,” he said.
Accusing the government of endangering the lives of health workers, he asked, “How can one trust the government on its Rs 1,250-crore package when it has failed to pay the pending amounts to ASHA workers?”