Sanchita Chatterjee, BS News Agency: Unable to enter the house of the deceased ASHA worker Rumpa Mandal, 'Team Mamata' members and Trinamool MP Dola Sen and MLA Kunal Ghosh spoke to the family outside the house. On Friday morning, they reached Bhalukathole village in Gangajalghati block of Bankura and conveyed the message of being by the side of the deceased's family. Dola Sen and Kunal Ghosh reached Bhalukathole village along with the Bankura district Trinamool leadership at around 11 am. They were accompanied by Gangajalghati Trinamool leader Nimai Maji, former MLA from Saltora Swapan Bauri, former MLAs from Barajora Ashutosh Mukherjee and Alok Mukherjee, district leaders Subrata Daripa, Santosh Mondal, Bankim Mishra, Dhabal Singh, Pavitra Mukherjee and more than a hundred leaders and activists.
Although they were able to enter the village, they could not enter the house of the deceased ASHA activist. Local sources claim that the Trinamool leaders were not allowed to enter the house due to pressure from the BJP. Later, the deceased's husband Subhash Mondal came out of the house and spoke to them under a tree in the village.
Subhash Mondal said that they had spoken to the state health minister. However, he did not want to comment further on the matter.
Dola Sen and Kunal Ghosh said that Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee herself wanted to come to the deceased's house. But since she could not come, she sent them and gave the message to be by the side of the family. Later, Kunal Ghosh, while facing the media, strongly criticized the BJP and local MLA Chandana Bauri. He alleged that ASHA workers who are not skilled in Ayushman Bharat e-KYC work have been given extra work pressure with short training. He claimed that Rumpa Mandal died while working under that pressure.
Dola Sen said that the same pressure was created on BLOs in the past, a similar situation has arisen for ASHA workers. He said that the Trinamool Congress is standing by Rumpa Mandal's family. The deceased has a 12-year-old daughter and her husband is a marginal farmer. The family demands that the government should take the responsibility of a member's job and the daughter's education.
He also said that Kunal Ghosh is not being allowed to speak on this issue in the assembly. Nevertheless, efforts will be made to convey the demands of the deceased's family to the concerned quarters. He also instructed Gangajalghati Block Trinamool leader Nimai Maji to maintain regular contact with the family. On the other hand, Kunal Ghosh alleged that no BJP representative went to inquire about the deceased's family. He also commented that the people will give a befitting reply.
It is worth noting that last Sunday, local MLA Chandana Bauri reprimanded ASHA workers for their work related to the e-KYC of the Ayushman Bharat project in Gangajalghati block. A video of that incident went viral on social media. After that, ASHA worker Rumpa Mondal died of a heart attack at home. Anger spread among ASHA workers across the state over the incident. There were demands for financial compensation for the deceased's family, a job for one person, and a public apology from MLA Chandana Bauri.
Later, the Health Minister held a meeting at the Swasthya Bhavan with the deceased's family members, ASHA worker representatives, and MLA Chandana Bauri. After that, Chandana Bauri visited the deceased's house and expressed her condolences and assured to be by the side of the family.