Junior doctors continue strike in Telangana

HYDERABAD: About 6,000 junior doctors in government hospitals across Telangana continued their indefinite strike for a second day on Tuesday, affecting the normal healthcare services

With the talks held with Health Minister C. Damodar Raja Narasimha on Monday evening failed to resolve the deadlock, the junior doctors continued their strike.

The medicos boycotted outpatient services, elective surgeries, and ward duties. However, they were attending emergency duties.

Telangana Junior Doctors Association (T-JUDA) has made it clear that the strike will continue till their demands are met.

Their demands include establishment of a green channel for timely stipend disbursement, honorarium for superspeciality senior residents, deployment of police personnel to prevent violence against doctors in hospitals, construction of new hostels, adequate faculty at medical colleges, and a new building for Osmania General Hospital (OGH).

The government, which has responded positively to address some demands of the striking medicos, has appealed to them to ensure that healthcare services were not affected.

About 1,000 junior doctors in Gandhi Hospital and OGH in Hyderabad were boycotting their duties.

Holding placards in support of their demands, junior doctors staged protests at both the major government hospitals.

TJUDA president Dr. G. Sai Sri Harsha said that security at hospitals is their main demand. He said though the government in 2019 had agreed to deploy a Special Protection Force (SPF) to provide security to doctors, no action was taken.

The Health Minister on Monday directed Director of Medical Education (DME) Dr N Vani to meet with the head of the home department to discuss deploying the SPF.

TJUDA leaders said they had been placing their demands before the government since January and went on strike only as a last resort. They said they would end the stir only after a categorical commitment from the government.