Medical services hit, bandh near total

Chandigarh, May 25 (UNI) A near total medical bandh was observed today in Punjab, Haryana and Union Territory of Chandigarh in response to the call given by IMA and other anti-quota associations in protest against caste-base reservations.

OPD services were hit in most of the government and private hospitals, nursing homes, private clinics and at few places medical shops remained closed. However, emergency services continued to function normally.

In Chandigarh. medical services were badly hit and the bandh was near total. Resident doctors of PGIMER, IMA members from Chandigarh, Mohali and Panchkula, medical students of GMCH, private doctors, members of chemist association and students from Punjab Engineering College and Panjab University took out a procession against the proposed 27 reservation for OBCs in higher educational institutes.

Medical services in Rohtak, Yamuna Nagar, Ambala, Karnal, Fatehabad and other districts of Haryana were paralysed in response to the bandh, but in Kurukshetra almost all private clinics, nursing homes and medical shops functioned normally.

In Amritsar, the response to the nation wide-bandh was partial, but anti-reservationists today took out a procession in the city led by Member of Parliament Navjot Singh Sidhu.

In Ludhiana, medical services were affected as most of the OPDs in government and private hospitals remained closed due to bandh call given by IMA. However, at Christian Medical College (CMC) it was a mixed response to bandh.

In Patiala, medical services were affected due to IMA bandh, medical students, interns and junior doctors of Government Medical College, Government Ayurvedic College, Government Dental College and Government Rajindra Hospital continued with their anti-quota stir.

Medical services in Jalandhar remained affected in various private and government hospitals as members of IMA observed strike in protest of the UPA government's new reservation policy.

OPD services and operations in some poly clinics and private hospitals remained suspended, an agitating doctors' spokesman said.

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