Venugopal joins duty; Services resume in AIIMS;

New Delhi, July 8 (UNI) As AIIMS Director P Venugopal, whose dismissal was stayed by the High Court yesterday, joined duty, medical services, including OPD, resumed in the institute today after a three-day strike by doctors and medical students.

In his first administrative decision, Dr Venugopal removed institute registrar V P Gupta and slapped a show cause notice on him seeking within two weeks an explanation on release of salaries to doctors involved in the anti-quota agitation.

While Out Patient Department (OPD) started functioning from this morning, the emergency and casualty had begun services last night.

AIIMS spokesperson Shakti Gupta told UNI that the Registrar has been serve the show cause.

''Mr Gupta has been served a show cause notice and asked to explain within two weeks the confusion regarding the release of salaries to the doctors who participated in the anti-quota agitation. Till then Mr Gupta's junior will take over his duties,'' he added.

However, he clarified that Mr Gupta has not been dismissed and had only been asked to stay away from his duty for two weeks.

''When a show cause notice is served a person is asked to relinquish duty for the period he submits an explanation....

This is standard practise,'' he added.

Dr Venugopal did not attend to any patients today, he only cleared some files in his office, sources in his office said.

''He came in at around 1200 hrs for about half-an-hour and cleared some file... There were some administrative issues which needed his immediate attention,'' they added.

Long queues were seen outside the OPD as patients thronged the healthcare institute for treatment. The doctors were back to work early this morning in the department attending to the patients and trying to clear the heavy backlog.

Patients bore the brunt of the medical lock-out as they were asked either to return or go to alternative institutes.

Two patients-- Sarvesh Kumar and Ramjeet-- had allegedly died due to lack of treatment during the strike period.

The spokesperson said the services are back to normal and patients were being attended to.

''Work is back to normal and patients are being attending to,'' he added.

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