From rxpgnews.com
Striking Uttar Pradesh junior doctors call off strike
Jan 20, 2006 - 2:59:00 PM
Lucknow, Jan 20 (IANS) Striking junior doctors resumed work in seven medical colleges in Uttar Pradesh Friday morning after four days following the state government declaring their strike as "illegal".
The doctors went on strike Monday following a clash between a group of junior doctors from King George's Medical University (KGMU) and police recruits on a train. The strike paralysed work in medical colleges at Lucknow, Agra, Allahabad, Kanpur, Meerut, Jhansi and Gorakhpur.
This was the second round of violence on the KGMU campus in a fortnight. Last week, the death of student in a mishap sparked large-scale violence and arson on Lucknow's 100-year-old KGMU campus.
The government had Thursday said that the striking doctors would be liable to face action under the Essential Services Maintenance Act (ESMA) if they failed to resume duty with immediate effect.
Meanwhile, K.K. Singh, an assistant professor in KGMU, believed to be the mastermind of last week's violence and arson, was arrested bringing a sobering effect on the agitating junior doctors.
At least 10 unattended patients were reported to have died during the course of the present agitation. Many other patients had to be shifted to other hospitals as senior faculty members were unable to run the wards in the absence of junior doctors.
According to police, Singh was formally arrested Thursday midnight in connection with the first round of violence. Singh, who is with the surgery department, has a "shady" track record, police said.
"Singh was suspected to have prompted some students and junior doctors to burn down the office of the deputy registrar, where a lot of evidence about his alleged misdeeds were stated to be stored," Lucknow Senior Superintendent of Police Ashutosh Pandey told IANS.
Singh was last year jailed for his alleged involvement in a medical examination paper leak scam, which was busted by the Central Bureau of Investigation.
Reports reaching here from Agra, Allahabad, Meerut, Jhansi, Gorakhpur and Kanpur medical colleges said that most of the junior doctors had resumed work.
The UP Junior Doctors Association president Debashish Shukla formally called off the strike Friday and also dissolved the association.
With a view to ridding the campus of "undesirable elements", the KGMU administration has suspended teaching and ordered students to vacate their hostels by Friday evening.
"We have to identify the black sheep and clean up hostels where some undesirable element are suspected to have crept in," KGMU Vice Chancellor Mahendra Bhandari said.
"The hostel allotments will be made afresh and punitive action taken against mischief mongers who are spoiling the academic environment in this prestigious institution," Bhandari said.
He stated that the "hospital services stood fully restored from this morning".
Indo-Asian News Service
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