COIMBATORE: The volunteers working for the Makkalai Thedi Maruthuvam project in the Coimbatore district have demanded to provide them with a hike in incentives as per the government norms.
They made an appeal to the district collector and the district health department as currently, the volunteers in Coimbatore are receiving only about Rs 4,500 while those in other districts are receiving a hiked incentive of Rs 5,500 since last December. The officials assured that the hiked incentives will be provided soon.
About 324 volunteers are working in 11 revenue taluks of the Coimbatore district but employment is kept temporary by the government and are only provided with incentives every month instead of a proper salary. The hike in incentives was announced by the state government last December.
However, the volunteers in the district are yet to receive them. S Premalatha, a volunteer in the Thondamuthur Block told TNIE, “In the initial days we were hired for carrying out two to three hours of work which includes providing medicines to patients at their doorsteps and screening individuals for blood pressure. But later, the workload increased and we have been working for more than five hours a day. After requests from us, the state government hiked the incentives. Although other districts have started providing them for past six months, Coimbatore district has not implemented it yet.”
Coimbatore district collector Kranthi Kumar Pati said, “After receiving the complaint, I had asked the officials to conduct an enquiry. The Makkalai Thedi Maruthuvam project volunteers in Coimbatore will receive their hiked incentive from this month.”