Odisha doctors warn of renewed agitation over unresolved demands

Bhubaneswar: Doctors in Odisha may resume their agitation after the Odisha Medical Service Association (OMSA) accused the state government of failing to act on assurances given during earlier protests over their pending demands. 

The association said several issues discussed with the Health Department remain unresolved despite government assurances. It urged the state to take decisions on the pending demands and issue the required notifications by the end of October. 

A key demand is the transfer of doctors who have completed five years of service in the KBK region. According to OMSA, government policy permits doctors completing the stipulated tenure in the region to seek transfers to places of their choice. The government collected their preferences through its transfer portal in January this year, but it has not issued transfer orders even after eight months. 

OMSA claimed that the file concerning these transfers has been pending at the Health Minister’s level for nearly seven months. The association argued that doctors posted in remote and difficult areas should not be required to seek individual interventions for transfers when the demand is based on an existing government policy.

The association also pointed to assurances made during a meeting with the Health Department in July. A secretary-level committee had met on July 22 to consider the doctors’ demands, but OMSA said the decisions taken during the process have not yet been followed by the necessary government notifications, reports Sambad English. 

The latest warning comes after a series of agitations by government doctors earlier this year. Doctors had initially protested over multiple demands and observed a two-hour closure of OPD services. The agitation was subsequently withdrawn after the government gave assurances.

However, alleging that the commitments were not implemented, OMSA resumed its agitation in July. Following discussions with the government at various levels, the protest was later kept on hold.

With the pending issues still unresolved, the association has now set the end of October as the deadline for government action, raising the possibility of fresh industrial action by doctors.