Bhayandar: It was a black Diwali for 130 Accredited Social Health Activist (ASHA), the female volunteers or link workers, who are with the health department of the Mira Bhayandar Municipal Corporation (MBMC). They have been working for the past 12 years for a measly Rs 700 per month but in 2014, they received a 500% hike in the pay structure and started getting a monthly honorarium of Rs 3,500.
However, they were denied Diwali bonus this year. ASHA volunteers act as a link between the health centres and the local populace under the National Rural Health Mission (NHRM). Apart from providing support to women in pre- and post-pregnancy care, link workers perform important tasks, including door-to-door health surveys, distributing medicines for vector-borne diseases, administering polio drops in time, and implementing the Intensified Mission Indradhanush apart from keeping a tab on fever cases in their localities concerned.
“Despite performing our duties with dedication for over a decade, we are given a step-motherly treatment. Even after so many years, we are underpaid and get just Rs. 2,940 after deductions and this year, the administration has denied bonus to us,” link worker Meenakshi Wagh said.
