Striking junior doctors quit; health services in MP affected

BHOPAL: Health services in Madhya Pradesh continued to be badly affected with over 1200 junior doctors associated with five state-run medical colleges resigning to protest state government's failure to hike their stipend among other issues.

The doctors, belonging to the Junior Doctors Association (JDA), before resigning yesterday, called of a strike that they had been carrying out since July 28.

The Indore Bench of the Madhya Pradesh (MP) High Court on August 1 had declared their strike illegal and asked them to go back to work following a PIL filed by a senior advocate.

"Honouring the court's orders, we first joined our duties and then quit en masse," MP JDA President, Jeevan Singh Meena said.

"The decision to quit en masse was taken by us as government was threatening to cancel our registration," he further added.

The junior medicos had been demanding enhanced stipends and lowering of tuition fees like done in other states like Uttar Pradesh and Bihar.

Meena further said the junior doctors went on strike as a "matter of principle" and not just to press for their demand to reduce the fees.
Meanwhile, health services in hospitals associated with medical colleges in Indore, Bhopal, Jabalpur, Gwalior and Rewa were badly affected causing hardship to a large number of people.