Jharkhand: 5 medical college SRs threaten strike for non-payment of salaries

Ranchi: Facing the grave issue with non-payment of salary for the past 3 months, more than 100 senior resident (SR) doctors in Jharkhand have threatened to go on strike, in the coming days, starting with stopping OPD services and gradually even stopping emergency services if demands are not fulfilled.

Confirmation to this effect has been given by Dr Ajit Kumar, Resident Wing President, Indian Medical Association (IMA) to media persons recently

The resident doctors have decided to stop all OPD service on November 5 and Emergency Services on November 11 in five hospitals in the state to protest against the issue.

As per a recent media report in The Telegraph, during the protest resident doctors of 5 medical colleges including those at Patliputra Medical College and Hospital (PMCH) in Dhanbad, Palamau Medical College, Hazaribagh Medical College, Mahatama Gandhi Memorial Medical College and Hospital (MGM) in Jamshedpur and Dumka Medical College and Hospital will stop services.

Earlier this year, OPD services were disrupted by the doctors at the Rajendra Institute of Medical Sciences (RIMS) demanding for the implementation of the Medical Protection Act (MPA).

Also Read: Pen-Down Strike: Jharkhand Doctors demand Medical Protection Act

The upcoming strike is likely to affect services especially in the newly established 3 medical colleges in Hazaribagh, Dumka and Palamau. The medical institutes located in Dumka, Palamau and Hazaribagh were inaugurated by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi earlier this year. These 3 institutes were built at a cost of Rs 885 crore and targetted to have 100 MBBS seats each.

Also Read: Jharkhand: PM Modi inaugurates 3 Medical Colleges, 300 MBBS seats to be added

However, these institutes may suffer badly with the recently announced strike. As per one of the senior resident doctors, he was receiving around Rs 90000 monthly salary prior to his PG medical course. However, he was posted at a new medical college in the state with a lower payment of Rs 60000 per month, which he did not even receive for the past three months.

Taking cognizance of the issue, Health secretary Nitin Madan Kulkarni stated the payments would be made very soon.

“Steps have been initiated to disburse their salaries. It will be done soon. At some of the new medical colleges, payments to senior resident doctors had to be made for the first time. There must have been a technical glitch that held up the payment. We have taken a serious note of it,” Kulkarni told The Telegraph.