Doctors' boycott work for third day; Medical services hit

New Delhi, May 16 (UNI) Resident and junior doctors and medical students continued with their indefinite strike for the third day today paralysing medical services in government hospitals across the capital despite the Centre promising a higher education reservation 'mechanism' to satisfy all concerned.

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

However, emergency and ICU departmets functioned in all the hopsitals.

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 Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and 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 UNI.

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.

Since yesterday nine fasting students-- have been admitted to AIIMS casualty due to dehydration. All of them have been relieved.

Engineering students from five institutes-- Jamia Millia Islamia, Netaji Subhas Institute of Technology (NSIT), Delhi College of Engineering (DCE), Indira Gandhi Institute of Technology (IGIT) and IIT-- are also expected to join the agitation within the next ten days.

United Students member and NSIT Students' Union leader Honey Arun said the engineering students will join the agitation as soon as the examinations are complete.

''Our administration is not with us.... we can not leave the examination mid-way. We will soon join the medical students,'' he added.

They will hold a candlelight vigil on May 29 in support of the movement.

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