Unemployed J

Srinagar, June 20 (UNI) Protest marches and sit-in by hundreds of unemployed Indian System of Medicine (ISM) doctors here continued for yet another day today with medicos threatening to take the extreme step if their demands were not accepted soon.

Carrying placards and banners, the angry doctors took out a peaceful protest march from Pratap Park to Sher-i-Kashmir Municipal Park here. Later, they staged a sit-in at the Pratap Park.

Shouting slogans against the Jammu and Kashmir government, the doctors accused the state administration of reneging on its promise to provide them with jobs by April this year.

They threatened to intensify the struggle if the state government failed to redress their grievances soon.

The doctors said they have been running from pillar to post for the past seven years for being absorbed in the department.

''Delay is Death... Resuscitate our Community... Hon'ble CM Keep Your Promise'' read some of the banners and placards.

The protestors said there were around 1100 unemployed ISM doctors in the state. While about 100 of them already crossed the upper age limit, another 100 were on the verge of crossing the limit.

The ISM doctors had staged a sit-in before the office of the Divisional Commissioner at Jammu and later intensified the struggle by going on a hunger strike for about 15 days in January.

Health and Medical Education Minister Mangat Ram Sharma and Deputy Speaker Mohammad Akbar Lone later intervened and the doctors called off the hunger strike. However, the sit-in continued.

In the meantime, on January 18, the doctors met Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad at his Jammu residence.

In the meeting, they said Mr Azad gave them an assurance that all the unemployed ISM doctors would be absorbed by April.

''We submitted our respective resume at the district headquarters concerned as per the Chief Minister's instructions,'' said a doctor.

''But, till date, nothing has been done in this regard. The government's response has been cool and unfortunate. We have information that the state government has now decided to reduce the number of posts in the ISM department,'' he added.

The doctors said the negative and step-motherly approach of the state government had forced them to come on the roads once again to make their grievances heard in the corridors of power.

The doctors threatened to intensify the struggle and take extreme step, if the state government failed to address their problems soon.

UNI