Orissa Assembly expresses concern over mass resignation of doctors

Bhubaneswar, Mar 15 (UNI) Cutting across party lines, members of Orissa Assembly today expressed concern over the threat of mass resignation by doctors from March 19 and urged Speaker Maheswar Mohanty to direct the government to resolve the issue through negotiations.

Raising the issue during Zero Hours, the members said the doctors had given a notice to resign en mass from March 19 if the government failed to concede their 19-point charter of demands.

The demands included upward revision of their pay scale, promotion security to doctors on duty and creation of better infrastructure.

The members said medicare facilities would be paralysed as more than 1200 posts of doctors were lying vacant and over 2000 medicos would resign on March 19.

The patients were suffering as the doctors were not available for consultation for a brief period. They have also started refusing to admit patients in view of their mass resignation threat, they added.

The members said the demands of the doctors were justified as they were being paid less salary compared to their counterparts in neighbouring Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal. There was also no scope for promotion for doctors in the state.

The members said since only four days left, the government should invite the agitating doctors for discussion and resolve the issue at the earliest.

The issue was first raised by Mr Nrusingh Sahu (Congress) and later supported by Mr Sitakanta Mohapatra, Mr Prafulla Majhi Mr Nimai Chandra Sarkar, Mr Netra Nanda Mallick, Mr Narasinmgha Mishra, Mr Umesh Swain, Mr Narasinha Mishra, Mr Padma Lochan Panda, Mr Rabindra Mallik (all Congress), Mr Sambunath Naik (Independent), Mr Paremeswar Sethi, and Mr Ramesh Chandra Patnaik (BJD).

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