Doctors' strike enters third day; services hit

New Delhi, May 16: A day after the Centre promised a higher eduction reservation 'mechanism' to satisfy all concerned, medical services in government hospitals across the capital continued to be affected as the strike by resident and junior doctors and medical students entered its third day today.

Though parallel OPD units were set up, services in Delhi's five premier government hospitals including AIIMS and LNJP, remained affected.

The parallel OPD units were set up in All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), the Safdarjang, Guru Tegh Bahadur, the Lok Nayak Jaiprakash Narain and Sucheta Kriplani Hospitals, to attend patients who were returned yesterday.

Resident and Junior doctors of Deen Dayal Upadhayay, Ram Manohar Lohia, Lal Bahadur Shastri and Ihbas hospitals have also joined the fasting students of 'Youth for Equality'.

Services were resumed at all private hospitals, including Sir Gangaram Hospital, where operations were severely impacted yesterday. The doctors and students, opposing the Government proposal to reserve 27 per cent seats for OBCs in centres of higher learning, said they will continue with the agitation till they get a ''concrete response from the government''.

''We will not withdraw the agitation... The resident and junior doctors are with us and out support is growing by the day. Nothing will deter us,'' AIIMS Students' union leader Sasmit Sarangi told sources.

He said any government action against them will not deter the agitating students and doctors.

Students from the Delhi University and some lawyers lent support to the students. About 100 medical students began the indefinite fast on Sunday.

Yesterday doctors of government and private hospitals struck work against the Government proposal.

Patients were sent back as senior doctors, consultants, resident and junior doctors boycotted work on the call of a ''medical bandh'' by the Indian Medical Association (IMA).

A delegation of Delhi Medical Association (DMA), lawyers and intellectuals submitted a memorandum to National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) chairperson A S Anand and apprised him about the police action on students in Mumbai.

DMA General Secretary Girish Tyagi said the police action on the peaceful agitation by the students was a violation of Human Rights and demanded an inquiry into the incident.

Meanwhile, the Delhi Government has cancelled leave of doctors in its hospitals in view of the strike.

The Government has also drawn up an action plan to ensure that patients are attended to in all units of the hospitals including the intensive care and casualty.

Delhi RWAs Federation under URJA has expressed support for the ongoing students' anti-reservation movement terming the quota proposal as "unfortunate, untimely and undemocratic at the very least".

On Friday medical students in Mumbai braved police batons while protesting against increase in OBC quota.

The peaceful protest turned unruly when the police used force to break open students' cordon obstructing traffic. A few girl medicos suffered injuries during the melee.

Hundreds of medical students clashed here with the police on Friday as they tried to march towards the Prime Minister's North Block office in protest against the Government proposal.

The students say the reservation move is anti-merit and would push back India's development.

UNI

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