ASHAs form the frontline foot soldiers of the health system, and their services are often ignored, the protesters said.
Published Aug 25, 2025 | 6:39 PM ⚊ Updated Aug 25, 2025 | 6:39 PM
ASHAs protest demanding fair pay, better working conditions, and other benefits in Hyderabad.
Synopsis: ASHAs from across Telangana staged a protest in Hyderabad and listed their demands, including the implementation of the promises the Congress had made in the Assembly election manifesto.
The Dharna Chowk in Hyderabad reverberated with songs that spoke about the struggles and resilience of Accredited Social Health Activists — or ASHAs — who converged and transformed the area opposite the Indira Park into a sea of blue and white on Monday, 25 August.
ASHAs from across Telangana, most of them draped in their blue and white vardi — the trademark saree that has become part of their identity — descended on Dharna Chowk, demanding fair wages and better working conditions. Those not in uniform formed an outer ring.
The air was charged, as anger blended with resilience, and the frontline foot soldiers of the state’s health system, backed by the Bharatiya Rashtra Trade Union (BRTU), sang the songs of their struggles and voiced tales of their undervalued contributions to society.
With the local body elections in the state just around the corner, the protestors demanded that the government meet its promises.
Manjula, an ASHA from Mancherial, some 242 km from Hyderabad, joined the protests with a sense of frustration. She explained the daily challenges of balancing her duties with the limited support provided.
ASHAs protesting in Hyderabad.
“We have some targets to meet in terms of immunisation. Yet, we are asked to stay at a centre from 9 am to 4 pm each day. How are we supposed to do well with this kind of hurdle?” she asked.
Her concerns reflected similar struggles faced by ASHAs across Telangana, who continued to demand fixed salaries and better working conditions, and had protested earlier as well. Despite staging protests at Primary Health Centres and district headquarters, Vinodha, another AHSA from Mancherial, said their pleas have been ignored.
“That is why we came all the way to Hyderabad to have our voices heard,” she said. With a monthly honorarium of ₹9,900 to support a family of four, she added that expenses often spilled over when transporting patients, further straining her income.
A list of demands was displayed at the protest site. Their primary demand was the fulfilment of the promises in the Congress’s election manifesto — increased pay. Under their promises for “Government/ Private Employees Welfare” in the 2023 manifesto, the Congress promised that “Monthly salary will be increased for all field assistants/ASHAs/IKP/MGNREGA employees in addition to their job security (sic.)”
However, their demands were not limited to the poll promises. They also raised eight other demands:
Former minister and BRS leader T Harish Rao criticised the Congress government for failing to fulfil its election promise of providing fixed salaries to ASHAs. Participating in the protest, he accused the government of ignoring frontline health workers while sanctioning large-scale contracts.
“The Congress party promised to give you a fixed salary if you helped them win. You are asking Revanth Reddy to fulfil your promise. This is not a new thing,” he said.
He questioned the government’s priorities. “Doesn’t the government that has called for contracts worth ₹50,000 crore have money to pay the salaries of ASHAs?” he asked.
Citing tenders for infrastructure projects, he alleged that funds were being diverted towards commissions and contracts while ASHAs, Anganwadi, and mid-day meal workers were being denied fair pay.
Highlighting the contribution of ASHAs during the COVID-19 pandemic, Rao recalled that it was unfair to miss the mark on ASHAs who worked day and night without even thinking about their lives during the coronavirus pandemic. “We (the previous BRS government) had increased the salary of ASHAs, which was ₹2,200 to ₹10,000.”
He warned that the government would face a backlash if it further ignored the ASHAs’ demands before local body elections. “We demand that ASHAs be called and spoken to before the elections and their wishes fulfilled. Otherwise, I don’t need to tell you what ASHAs will do in the local body elections; they will show you by doing it,” he cautioned.
(Edited by Majnu Babu).
