Indore Doctors Begin Protest Wearing Black Bands, Routine Hospital Services To Be Suspended October 29-30

Indore (Madhya Pradesh): Doctors at MGM Medical College and Government Dental College (GDC) worked wearing black bands on Thursday as the Medical Teachers Association (MTA) launched a phased agitation over its long-pending demands.

Doctors from MY Hospital, Super Speciality Hospital, Maharaja Tukojirao Hospital, Cancer Hospital, Chacha Nehru Bal Chikitsalaya, Mental Hospital, Manorama Raje TB Hospital and GDC participated in the protest.

According to the agitation schedule approved by the MTA general body, doctors will continue wearing black bands while on duty till October 24. A one-hour pen-down protest will follow from 1 pm to 2 pm on October 27 and 28.

Routine medical services will remain suspended on October 29 and 30, while emergency services will continue. The association has also decided to run parallel OPDs on these two days to minimise inconvenience to patients.

The MTA's 12-point charter of demands includes settlement of pending Dynamic Assured Career Progression cases, promotion benefits at Super Speciality Hospital and other departments, payment of pending gratuity and arrears under the Seventh Pay Commission, and implementation of time-bound pay scales.

The association has also sought relaxation of benchmark criteria for SC/ST doctors as per government rules, completion of service book verification, child care leave for women doctors at GDC, time-bound approval of foreign travel applications and access to Annual Confidential Reports.

Other demands include equitable distribution and clearance of pending Ayushman incentives and construction of a residential complex for doctors on the campus.

MTA president Dr Rahul Rokde said the association remained committed to securing resolution of the doctors' pending demands.