e- Sameekshe! Inhuman door-to-door survey during Covid times, alleges AAP
2 min read
Mysuru: Health & Family Welfare Department is forcing ASHA workers to do a door-to-door survey when the second wave of Covid-19 is in full blast.
Though the survey is to be done by using an app, the workers have not been given any phone or data pack. Those who don’t have a smart phone are being pressurised to buy one immediately.
When the department has not been paying their wages regularly where will they get money for a phone, is their genuine concern. Moreover, many of these workers are not tech savvy and cannot handle a smart phone, but there is no alternate methodology available to them either.
People normally answer ASHA workers queries as long as it is health related, but the moment they ask social status and income questions, the families get sensitive and coil up worrying that their BPL card could be under threat of cancellation. The questionnaire is very long and it takes a minimum of half an hour if the residents are cooperative and under the rampant corona wave times, these hapless ASHA workers are being exploited and exposed to the epidemic.
They are being given a daily target of 20 houses and overall target of 500 to 1000 houses. This is inhuman and unacceptable.
These workers are not being paid any extra compensation for this survey work and if it goes on for a month, their regular work of smooth delivery of pregnant women, mother and child care, village cleanliness etc., will suffer.
They have already submitted their memorandum to the officials but nothing concrete has emerged from the government side but the constant pressure on them to start the survey work remains. Those who fail to do this are being threatened with holding back of March NHM compensation and reporting their names to higher authorities.
Aam Aadmi Party, Mysuru district Convener, Malavika Gubbivani who listened to the woes of ASHA workers has demanded as follows- Such door to door survey work must be stopped when the epidemic is raging on.
The survey work, only if it is health related, could be taken up after the epidemic is over. Any other non-health survey could be outsourced to some professional agency.
ASHA workers must be compensated for any survey work.
Those who do not have a smart phone must be given one, with data pack. Alternate arrangement must be made for those who are unable to use smart phones. These workers should be given sufficient time for the lengthy survey work and not be pressurized unnecessarily, according to a release by Malavika Gubbivani.
– Team Mysoorunews
Mysooru News
