Shivamogga: ASHA workers in Shivamogga have boycotted the state health department’s Samasta App, protesting mandatory digital reporting without govt-issued smartphones or tablets and the withdrawal of the Rs 280 monthly mobile allowance.
Under the banner of the Karnataka State United ASHA Workers Association, the workers submitted a memorandum to the chief executive officer of the zilla panchayat Monday as part of a statewide protest week from Oct 5 to Oct 11. The association demanded a fixed monthly honorarium of Rs 15,000, combining central and state funds, to be paid by the 5th of every month. Other demands include an end to forced GPS location tracking and compulsory sputum collection, exemption from non-mandated platforms such as the Nikshay app, and lump-sum retirement benefits for workers completing 10 years of service.
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The workers said using personal phones for the app had caused storage problems, privacy risks and rapid device degradation. They also cited inadequate digital literacy training for typing in Kannada and English and said they received no additional incentive for the extra administrative work. Samasta, an integrated healthcare reporting app, is used by Karnataka’s field health workers to digitise household health tracking, maternal-child health metrics, immunisations and community disease monitoring. It also sought immediate release of two months of pending payments and years of accrued incentives for TB, NCD and RCH tasks. The association also sought dedicated rest rooms with clean water and sanitation at district and taluk hospitals, and mandatory quarterly grievance redressal meetings to end administrative harassment. Download the TOI App.