Accredited Social Health Activists (ASHAs) agitating for better remuneration and retirement benefits for the past 42 days in front of the Kerala Secretariat in Thiruvananthapuram have decided to observe a mass hunger strike on Monday (March 23, 2025).
The mass hunger strike is being observed in solidarity with their three colleagues who have been on an indefinite hunger strike since March 20, to push for the demands set forth by ASHAs.
A statement issued by Kerala ASHA Health Workers’ Association (KAHWA), which is leading the agitation which has made national headlines, said that not just ASHAs but several members of the civil society and various political, voluntary organisations are also joining them in observing the mass hunger strike.
The strike, which began as a peaceful protest of a few hundred women in front of the Secretariat on February 10, soon grew in strength, surprisingly garnering mass support from the civil society as well as political parties.
The agitation has now assumed serious political dimensions, with the Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI(M)] accusing the Opposition and a “rainbow coalition of anti-Left voices” of trying to turn the agitation into an anti-government movement.
Political parties of all hues and various service organisations have been making a beeline to the agitation venue on all days declaring support for the agitating ASHAs, even as the State government has been at pains to emphasise that just a fraction of the ASHAs in the State are not cooperating with the government and that it is business as usual at the Health department.
Published - March 23, 2025 09:36 pm IST
