The Hindu : Front Page : 70 die as junior doctors’ strike enters sixth day in Bihar

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Nov 16, 2009
ePaper | Mobile/PDA Version

Front Page

Front Page

70 die as junior doctors’ strike enters sixth day in Bihar

Staff Reporter

‘Will continue to stay away till government approves hike in stipend’

On strike to get the State to fulfil its promise of hiking stipend from Rs.13,000 to Rs.25,000
Health authorities warn doctors to end strike or face action, may include cancelling registration

PATNA: Over 70 patients are said to have died as the strike by Bihar’s junior doctors, who are demanding an increase in their stipend, entered its sixth day on Sunday.

Around 950 junior doctors from the Patna Medical College Hospital (PMCH) and the Darbhanga Medical College Hospital (DMCH) stopped work since Tuesday in a bid to get the State government to fulfil its promise of hiking their stipend from Rs.13,000 to Rs.25,000.

“Around 60 patients in PMCH and 10 in DMCH have died during the strike,” said Naquie Imam, spokesperson of the Bihar Junior Doctors’ Association.

“This matter has been dragging since December 2008, and despite the assurance given by the government to hike the stipend to Rs.25,000, they obviously are not bothered,” he added.

‘Don’t blame us’

While admitting that the strike had affected the functioning of the emergency and other wards of the hospitals, Mr. Imam maintained that the “striking doctors were not to be blamed for this.”

“We gave them an ultimatum, which they failed to respond to. So we will continue to stay away from work until the government fulfils its promise,” he said.

The deadlock between the doctors and government officials has affected the emergency and surgery wards, apart from hampering the outdoor services of both medical colleges.

Despite this, PMCH superintendent Dr. O.P. Choudhary maintained that the “strike had no impact on the functioning of the hospital … more than 90 doctors have been deployed from nearby government hospitals and private nursing homes.”

Warning issued

Meanwhile, health authorities have warned the doctors to end the strike or face action, which may include cancelling their registration.

On Saturday, PMCH authorities said the hospital proposed to move the Human Rights Commission with details of patients who died during the strike.

The doctors, however, await the move and say it would only expose the government’s malicious intentions.

“We welcome it if bodies like the Patna High Court and the Human Rights Commission are brought into the matter. Then they can see for themselves what this government’s true intentions are,” Mr. Imam said.

The junior doctors contend that their counterparts in neighbouring Jharkhand are paid stipends of up to Rs.30,000 a month, while those in Central universities are paid as much as Rs.50,000 a month.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Front Page