On June 22,2026,a group of Women Health Volunteers (WHVs) gathered at the Coimbatore Collectorate and asked state government to increase their monthly remuneration to ₹15,000 .
Right now,these WHVs are getting just ₹5,500 monthly incentive for past five years . For work connected to public health,this amount sounds very less ah,especially when their duties are not exactly small.
These volunteers work under state government’s Makkalai Thedi Maruthuvam scheme . They conduct blood pressure and blood sugar screenings,deliver medicines directly to beneficiaries and keep health services moving at community level. Basically,they are doing work that many families quietly depend on .
But problem is workload. WHVs Welfare Association said they are supposed to work two hours per day,but many times duty stretches up to eight hours . And not just that,they are also handling tasks usually assigned to Health Sub-Centres.
Few demands standing out clearly here:
- Pending honorarium payments for last four months must be cleared .
- Formal job security should be given to WHVs.
- Inquiry should be held into reasons for wage disbursal delays.
And this is where frustration becomes very understandable. Association says there were earlier assurances about wage revision,but those promised changes have not been implemented . So volunteers are feeling undervalued,overworked and stuck in same situation for years .
At same time,local farmers also approached District Collector with separate petition . Their issue is different,but pressure is similar. They are worried about new restrictions from Union government gazette notification which prohibits sale of petrol and diesel in cans and barrels.
For farmers,this is not some minor inconvenience. They need fuel for agricultural machinery,and in remote areas,fuel access itself can become headache . They are asking for exemptions for agricultural use or some alternative like doorstep fuel delivery,so their work does not get disturbed.
So in one Collectorate,you have health volunteers asking for fair pay and job security,and farmers asking for basic access to fuel needed for farming . Different problems,but both pointing to same thing,people doing essential work are still struggling for support.
And now question is whether government will actually respond quickly,or whether these petitions will also keep waiting like pending payments…
