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Resident doctors of Mysore Medical College and Research Institute (MMCRI) on Monday launched an indefinite strike, boycotting OPD services and all elective duties, including elective OTs barring emergency services, in support of their demands, which included payment of COVID-19 risk allowance and timely payment of stipend to postgraduates and interns.
This is the third time the resident doctors are on strike here in support of their demands - second in the month of November this year. Their demands also included restructuring of academic fees as per the 2018-19 academic year.
The protesting doctors said they had put off their strike earlier on the reported assurance from the Minister for Medical Education and Health that the issue on their demands would be resolved in 10 days. “However, our demands have not been addressed and therefore the agitation has been resumed until they are fulfilled,” they said.
In a statement here, the Karnataka Association of Junior Doctors said it is unfortunate that the assurance given by the Minister has not been fulfilled. The intent to address the issue is clearly not visible as resident doctors were excluded from the package of COVID-19 risk allowance announced by the government a few months ago.
They said their academic fee was increased from ₹30,000 to ₹1,20,000, which was nearly 400 per cent hike. “To make matters worse during these troubling times, we have been made to pay up the entire sum without any concession. The issue was taken up in the form of symbolic protests, submission of petitions to the concerned authorities on a number of occasions. But there has been no response,” the association said.
