‘Resume work or pack your bags’

The government on Friday gave the striking resident doctors an option of either resuming work by 2pm on Saturday or get expelled from their colleges. The doctors have, however, refused to call off the strike. At least 2,993 doctors — the Maharashtra Association of Resident Doctors (Mard) claim it is 4,000 — are on a strike for the past four days demanding better pay, medical insurance, and improved living conditions in hostels.

The strike has affected 60% of the medical services. And it is evident from the fact that only 44 deliveries were performed in BMC hospitals over the past three days and 1,890 patients were treated in various out patient departments. The 1996 ‘Residency Scheme’ empowers the government to expel absentee students, if they go on leave without permission, and students goings on strike. Friday’s show-cause notice says that no appeals against the expulsion order would be entertained.

“According to the rules we first requested them to withdraw the strike,” Bhushan Gagarani, the medical education secretary, said. “If they refuse to resume work on Saturday, we will have to expel them. They will be marked absent till the authorities come out with a fresh notice.”

The doctors, however, stuck to their demands. “The strike will continue irrespective of the government’s conditions,” Dr Anil Dudhbhate, general secretary of central Mard, said. “We are aware of the inconvenience caused to patients. So, we have started parallel out patient departments in Nair and Sion hospitals.”

The Directorate of Medical Education and Research (DMER) has reiterated that they were ready for discussions if the doctors withdrew their strike. “We have sent a proposal to the finance department that their stipend be raised by another five to six thousand,” Dr Pravin Shingare, DMER’s joint director, said. The doctors want their stipend of Rs15,000 to be raised to at least Rs40,000.

Shingare said the state was forced to issue notices because the Citizen Forum of Maharashtra had approached the Nagpur bench of the Bombay High Court against the strike. “It would have been contempt of court if we didn’t take any action. In an earlier judgment the court had directed that the head of an institution could take action against undisciplined students,” he said.