ASHA Workers, AYUSH Students Protest in Bhubaneswar, Demanding Job Regularization & Salary Hike

Bhubaneswar: ASHA workers and AYUSH students in Bhubaneswar, Odisha, held separate protests on Monday, demanding that the government address their demands immediately.

ASHA workers gathered at Lower PMG to emphasize their requests, which included job regularization, salary increases, and other benefits. They also criticized a government bureaucrat for focusing on strengthening the ruling BJD’s electoral prospects by engaging with SHG women while ignoring the plight of ASHA workers.

AYUSH students from various government colleges in the state also organized a protest. They lamented the lack of new appointments for Ayurvedic and Homoeopathy doctors in the past 21 years, despite the government hiring over 1,000 allopathic doctors. The AYUSH students demanded the immediate opening of at least 500 government homoeopathic and ayurvedic dispensaries each this year, along with the establishment of 30 district AYUSH hospitals.

Both groups of protesters have decided to intensify their protests until they receive a written assurance addressing their demands.