From rxpgnews.com
AIIMS doctors to continue hunger strike against quota
By RxPG News Service,
Dec 16, 2006 - 5:08:16 AM
New Delhi, Dec 15 - A section of doctors of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences - went on hunger strike Friday to protest the passage of a bill allowing reservation of seats in educational institutes even as hospital authorities said they would not allow 'any dharna in the campus'.
Fifteen doctors had begun a hunger strike late Thursday after the Lok Sabha passed the quota bill. Five more resident doctors joined the strike Friday.
'At a general body meeting of our resident doctors, we decided to continue with our stir against the quota bill. Five more doctors joined our indefinite strike,' said Anil Sharma, representative of AIIMS resident doctors association -.
'We will not let the strike affect health service in the hospital. Those on strike will also be working as long as their body allows them,' Sharma added.
However, the hospital administration in a statement said that it was against any rally or dharna in the hospital campus.
'Any demonstration, dharna or rally within the AIIMS campus has been banned,' Shakti Gupta, chief spokesman of AIIMS, said.
'The hunger strike by the RDA executive has not affected the functioning of the hospital and patient care services. The outpatient department, emergency services, inpatient care and all other support services like laboratory, blood bank are functioning normally,' Gupta said.
However, some patients said they would leave AIIMS if the services were hit.
'We still remember the problems patients faced in May during the last strike by doctors. We will move out if it gets bad,' said Rajesh Kalra, who has come from Ghaziabad to admit his mother suffering from a kidney problem.
Health services in the capital's state-run hospitals were crippled in May when hundreds of doctors went on a two-week strike to protest the central government's proposal to reserve 27 percent seats in higher educational institutions across India for other backward classes.
Nearly 8,000 people avail of medical care at AIIMS every day. Of them, 6,000 are treated through outpatient departments.
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