Dhananjay Tiwari re-elected President for the eighth consecutive term; Shiv Sagar Shukla continues as General Secretary
Lucknow: The 23rd Provincial Convention of the Basic Health Workers’ Association, an important wing of the Family Welfare Department, concluded at a hotel in Krishna Nagar, Lucknow. The event saw the re-election of Dhananjay Tiwari as President for an unprecedented eighth consecutive term, while Shiv Sagar Shukla was re-elected as General Secretary.
Other office-bearers elected included Ravindra Singh Gaur as Senior Vice President, Pradeep Srivastava as Vice President, Sachin Yadav as Organizing Secretary, Ajay Kumar Nigam as Treasurer, and Prashant Dixit as Auditor.
Sunil Yadav, President of the Pharmacist Federation and Election Officer for the convention, administered the oath of confidentiality and adherence to the Association’s constitution to the newly elected representatives.
During the inaugural session, former MLC Arvind Tripathi (Gudddu Tripathi) attended as the Chief Guest and assured members of initiating tripartite dialogue between the government, administration, and the association to address their long-pending issues.
He highlighted the vital role of health workers in preventive healthcare, saying, “The importance of disease prevention is as great as that of treatment. Health workers are the cornerstone of the Family Welfare Department, and their concerns will be resolved at the earliest.”
Dr. Amit Singh, Joint Director (Administration) and Special Guest, reiterated that the Directorate has always maintained a positive approach toward health workers and that genuine demands would be taken up at the state level.
The convention witnessed detailed deliberations on several major concerns, particularly pay discrepancies. It was noted that since 2011, there have been disparities in the pay scales between male and female health workers despite court orders calling for parity. Although partial compliance has begun, the association urged the government for a permanent resolution.
The union also expressed concern over the stalled promotion process of health workers to the post of Health Education Officer, alleging that the proposal file has been unnecessarily withheld by officials.
Delegates from various districts across Uttar Pradesh participated in the convention, which was conducted in a peaceful and transparent manner.
In his concluding remarks, President Dhananjay Tiwari expressed gratitude to all delegates and reaffirmed his commitment to continue advocating for the rights and welfare of health workers across the state.
