Asha worker dies during protests, mixed reaction to shutdown in Karnataka

The two-day shutdown called by various trade unions had a mixed response in Karnataka on, with government offices and bus services functioning normally in most parts of the state.

A 57-year-old accredited social health activist (ASHA) died in Karnataka’s Uttara Kannada district on Tuesday while taking part in a protest as part of the two-day shutdown called by various trade unions across the country.

Bengaluru: Factory workers and members of Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU) raise slogans during a 48-hour-long nationwide general strike called by central trade unions in protest against the "anti-people" policies of the Centre, in Bengaluru, Tuesday, Jan 8, 2019. (PTI Photo/Shailendra Bhojak) (PTI1_8_2019_000201B) (PTI)

The deceased has been identified as Shantavva, who was a member of a local labour union in Mundgod town of the district, police said.

“The protest culminated at the tahsildar’s office and she took ill while a memorandum was being submitted to the tahsildar. She was reported to have vomited at the spot and was rushed to the hospital but she passed away,” said superintendent of police Patil Vinayak Vasanthrao.

“We are checking if she was suffering from any illness,” he added.

The shutdown had a mixed response in Karnataka, with government offices and bus services functioning normally in most parts of the state.

“Thousands of trade union members and workers have joined the strike demanding a minimum wage of ₹18,000 per month and abolishing the contract system among other demands,” All India Trade Union Congress (AITUC) leader MD Harigovind said, according to news agency IANS.

Most of 2,000-odd IT firms and 750 multi-national companies that Bengaluru is home to were open.

Schools and colleges across the state, however, remained shut and exams scheduled were put off. Many commercial establishments and shops, too, remained closed in support of the strike.