Two ASHA workers hurt in melee

​Eluru:  Tension prevailed at the Collectorate here on Wednesday following the Maha Dharna by the Accredited Social Health Activists (ASHA) workers.

The ASHA workers launched 48 hours ‘Maha Dharna’ and continued their agitation even during the midnight of Tuesday by cooking food at the Collectorate and also continued it till Wednesday morning. 

When the Collector was participating in a review meeting, the activists moved towards the Collectorate by pushing the barricades. The police immediately plunged into action and tried to stop them from entering the premises. 

During this, a scuffle broke out between the police and ASHA workers for more  than an hour when the police dragged the women activists and bundled them into police vehicles.  In the melee, the District ASHA Workers Union leaders A Shyamala Rani and Addagarla Ajay Kumar received minor injuries. The police took 16 leaders into their custody and tried to shift them to the Three  Town Police Station. 

However, the workers squatted in front of the vehicle on the road and raised slogans to release their leaders immediately.  Following the arrests, the ASHA workers took out a rally from the Collectorate to the Three Town Police Station and staged a dharna. 

Municipal Workers Union District General Secretary  B Somaiah  condemned the arrests and police action against the agitating workers. Addressing the workers at the police station, he said that the ASHA workers were agitating to pay a minimum wage of Rs 6,000. 

He pointed out that the Telangana Government has fixed Rs 6,000 as minimum wages to the ASHA workers. They alleged that the State government were using the ASHA workers as bonded labourers and did not pay them wages.  CITU leaders DNVD Prasad, Pampana Ravi Kumar, ASHA workers Union leaders A and others were arrested by the police during the agitation.