14 July,2009 04:34 PM IST | | PTI
With a determination to get their deserved stipend dues from the government, the resident doctors of Maharashtra have entered the eighth day of their indefinite strike despite being given termination and eviction notices by their respective colleges.
Over 3,000 resident doctors, who are also supported by their colleagues in dental colleges, have assembled on Tuesday at the Azad Maidan in south Mumbai demanding a hike of Rs 10,000 in their current stipend, Secretary of Maharashtra Association of Resident doctors (MARD) Anil Dudhabhate said.
"Yesterday we negotiated with the Ministers for Higher and Technical Education and they offered a hike of Rs 6,000 but we are determined to ask for a hike of at least Rs 10,000," he said. The government also gave an ultimatum to the doctors to return to work immediately.
According to Dr P Shingare, Deputy Director of Directorate of Medical Education and Research, the doctors demanded a hike of Rs 7,000 yesterday and the government offered Rs 6,000.
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"We have asked them to come back once the figure was accepted by the General Body of the MARD which had set that amount for the doctors yesterday," Shingare said.
The Ministers of Higher and Technical Education also had told MARD representatives that beyond Rs 6,000 no other demands will be entertained.
The strike has affected medical services at 24 medical colleges in the state and three medical colleges under the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) with over to 3,000 resident doctors and interns supporting the strike.
Doctors went on an indefinite strike for redressal of their demands, which include higher stipends and better living conditions at hospitals. The government has so far terminated the services of the doctors who are on strike and have also issued notices to them asking them to leave their hostels on medical college campuses.
Meanwhile, a PIL filed in the Bombay High Court yesterday had sought a ban on the ongoing strike by government medicos spearheaded by MARD. Last week a similar PIL was filed before the High Court's Nagpur bench by local NGO Nagpur Jan Manch.
