Lived experiences of surveillance at the margins during COVID-19 in India
Page 3 Ranjit Kaur
All India ASHA Worker and Facilitators Union
“ASHA workers protested in every district in Ludhiana… Actually, the Punjab government has launched an app, Ghar Ghar Nigrani, the data has to be done online by ASHA workers. They [Government] have to pay Rs 4 per person [for data entry]. This app was launched in June, suddenly…”
“There are many ASHA workers who do not have mobiles… They cannot even recharge their net packs. So we protested that the government would either give net pack recharge and mobiles to the ASHA or increase the incentive from Rs 4 to Rs 30 or 20.”
“The Punjab government asked ASHA workers to download it. ‘If an ASHA worker does not have her own mobile, then she should take her husband’s or her child’s mobile…”
“The app is also not working well. Some people are not able to download it… If it is getting downloaded, then it is not opening. If it is opening, then registration is not getting done. It shows the webpage is not available, there are too many problems. The app that the government has created is not easy for an ASHA… No one can type that fast. It will take 15 – 20 minutes for an ASHA worker to log one person’s information.”
Translated From Hindi