BHU medicos on indefinite strike, start parellel OPD

Varanasi, May 16 (UNI) The junior doctors at the Sir Sunder Lal Hospital (SSU) in the Banaras Hindu University (BHU) here today went on an indefinite strike against the UPA government's proposed move to give 27 per cent reservation to OBCs in instituions of higher education.

Resident Doctors Association (RDA) president Mahesh Kante told UNI here today 850 doctors including 350 resident doctors and 500 under graduate and post graduate medical students both from modern medicine and Ayurveda have changed their single-day 'token' strike into an indefinite strike.

Dr Kante and the other agitating doctors claimed the strike had fully paralysed the SSU hospital functioning, including the emergency services, while the hospital authorities said services had only been ''partially hit.'' The senior consultants and senior residents have ensured that hospital functioning especially Emergency and OPD services were not hit totally, Institute of Medical Sciences (IMS) Director Gajendra Singh claimed.

Meanwhile, the agitating doctors, after striking work at the SSU -- considered the health care hub of east Uttar Pradesh -- have started operating makeshift and free of cost OPD services under a tree outside the IMS.

''Our battle is against the UPA government and not the people. We are not going to work at the hospital as a mark of protest on the reservation issue, but offer whatever services we can to the needy patients through this open air OPD,'' Dr Avinash Singh, one of the leaders of anti-reservation movement said.

Dr Kante also said the battle against reservation has also been joined by other students of BHU, besides those from Mahatama Gandhi Kashi Vidyapith (MGKV) and Udai Pratap Autonomous College.

The students of MGKV and UP College have joined us in taking the movement to every bylane of the holy city, to attach people's power to our cause, Dr Kante added.

The medical students also continued to boycott the classes and forced the staff at the IMS to wear black bands at work in support of the anti-reservation cause.

UNI ARS VS LS KN1617