Kolkata, 22 August (H.S.) ASHA workers in West Bengal took to the streets on Friday with their pending demands. Their 'Kalighat Chalo' rally was stopped by the police near Rasbihari turn, due to which there was a huge jam and common passengers had to face a lot of trouble.

Hundreds of ASHA workers participated in this protest rally organized on Friday. Their main demand is that they should also be given the same respect and facilities as government employees. Along with this, they demanded salary hike, mediclaim facility in case of illness, benefits of social security schemes like PF and implementation of maternity leave.

Due to the procession of ASHA workers, traffic on the road from Hazra to Rasbihari was completely disrupted. The traffic was already slow due to rain, and on top of that, passengers had to face serious difficulties due to the rally.

The administration took precautions to maintain control over the situation. Barricading was done on many roads and additional police force was deployed so that no chaos spreads.

Notably, earlier also the Central Government was accused of lack of grants for ASHA workers. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had also raised this issue. In January this year, the state government had announced to give gifts to ASHA workers. In the state budget, a provision of Rs 200 crore was made to give smartphones to 70 thousand ASHA workers and for ASHA and Anganwadi workers. Despite this, ASHA workers are now agitating demanding salary hike and social security.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Priyanka Pandey