Bhopal: Junior doctors resumed normal duty after calling off their strike on Tuesday. In a late-night development, the Junior Doctors’ Association (JUDA) members met minister for medical education Vishwas Sarang and called off their strike.
Junior doctors had, initially, ran a parallel OPD as a mark of protest till Monday (April 12) and they had planned to suspend emergency services from Tuesday (April 13). But, at the last moment, the minister summoned the JUDA delegation and assured them that their demands would be met.
What JUDA demands
The junior doctors are demanding a hike of 18 per cent in their stipend. The other demands include abolition of the provision for work in rural areas mandatorily and payment of Rs 10,000 to each member of the JUDA, which Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan had announced earlier. Tuesday is the last day of the parallel OPD. JUDA has also demanded that only COVID patients in a serious condition be admitted to the COVID wards; or else, their studies are hampered, they feel. The government should maintain the state-level status of Hamidia Hosptial, the junior doctors have demanded, as it is pointless to admit all kinds of patients.
Minister’s assurance
“Minister Vishwas Sarang had called us on Monday night for a meeting and assured us that our demands would be met. We called off the strike. And today, we resumed our duties considering the seriousness of the situation during pandemic times as the state capital is reporting 1,400-1,500 corona patients daily. There’s a crowd of patients at Hamidia Hospital. When the minister visited Hamidia Hospital, we tried our best for a meeting with him for an on-the-spot solution of the issues, but we didn’t succeed. But, finally, the minister called us for talks and we immediately responded in a positive manner. Our joint efforts yielded positive results and the meeting with the minister was successful,” said JUDA president Dr Arvind Mina.
