Kochi, March 20 -- The Accredited Social Health Activists (ASHAs), sitting on agitation in the Kerala capital for better pay and retirement benefits, said they would begin an indefinite hunger strike after the talks with the state government failed.

Representatives of the protesting ASHAs, after being invited for talks for the first time in over a month, held two rounds of discussions, initially with top officials of the National Health Mission (NHM) and later with the health minister Veena George and other bureaucrats on Wednesday.

However, the ASHAs, following the meetings, said the talks did not yield a desirable result and resolved to begin the hunger strike on Thursday. The ASHAs have been demanding a hike in their monthly honorari...