Medical services hit in North-West

Chandigarh, May 15 (UNI) OPD services in majority of the government and private medical colleges in Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and the Union Territory of Chandigarh were hit today following the strike by junior doctors, interns and students in protest against the proposed reservation policy of the central government.

The protesting medical students and doctors held demonstrations, rallies and staged dharnas in their respective institutions and hospitals against the reservation policy and the lathi charge on doctors at Mumbai. The students of various institutions have begun chain hunger strikes.

At a few places senior doctors and the teaching faculty besides members of the Indian Medical Association also expressed their solidarity with the striking doctors and students by wearing black badges.

However, doctors wearing black badges maintained emergency services at the hospitals attached to the medical colleges for the convenience of the public.

Reports reaching here said OPD services at the Guru Nanak hospital, the Guru Tegh Bahadur hospital and other institutions attached with the government medical college at Amritsar were severely aeffected as interns and junior doctors joined the college students to register their protest against the reservation policy.

However, doctors maintained emergency services.

The medical college students continued with their chain hunger strike for the second day. OPD services were also affected at the SGPC run Guru Ram Dass Institute of Medical Services and Research and the two dental colleges in Amritsar.

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