The indefinite strike of National Health Mission (NHM) employees in Chhattisgarh entered its sixth day on Saturday, with district unit members in Raigarh staging a symbolic protest at Shaheed Colonel Viplav Tripathi Mini Stadium. More than 550 employees released tricolour balloons with placards carrying their 10-point charter, declaring that two decades of “exploitation must end.” Despite government claims of conceding five of their demands, the NHM Employees’ Union alleged no written order has been issued so far.

 

“If five demands are accepted, where is the documented proof ? Is the government policy only about empty promises?” district leaders, including Shakuntala Ekka, Dr Yogesh Patel, Vaibhav Deodia, and Anand Miri, asked in a joint statement. The protesters have flagged issues such as absence of a clear medical leave policy, opaque termination rules, lack of transparent transfer norms, inadequate cashless medical insurance under Ayushman Bharat, and no clarity on grade pay determination.

 

Their 10-point charter includes demands for regularisation, a dedicated public health cadre, pending 27% pay hike, transparent performance appraisal, compassionate appointments, and Rs 10 lakh cashless medical cover. Union leaders said health services across 6,239 facilities in the state are crippled. They held the government accountable for disruption in patient care, insisting that the strike would continue until written assurances are provided.