Resident doctors in several government and company hospitals in Maharashtra have decided to stop working at OPD from Monday as part of a national protest to call for the emergency cancellation of postgraduate medical hospitalization.
Doctors have been protesting that two batches of residents would share the extra workload instead of the three batches expected.
“As the country witnesses the rise of the new Covid-19 variant (Omicron), the least that needs to be done is to strengthen the healthcare system. We need everyone to work together,” said one of the protesting doctors.
The NEET-PG 2021 exam was originally scheduled to be held in January this year, but it was postponed to February and later to April. Due to the increase in Covid-19 cases across the country, it was finally delayed further.
The entrance examination finally took place in September, but the Supreme Court suspended admission and is currently hearing a petition from students questioning the validity of the implementation of the EWS and OBC quotas. In Mumbai, the Maharashtra Residents’ Association (MARD) decided to join the protest and quit all OPD jobs from the first week of December, while those at MARD Sion Hospital joined the demonstration on Monday.
“Mumbai students have another reason to protest. Recently, with the increasing number of Covid-19 cases, a notice was issued to vacate the accommodation facilities provided by MHADA/MCGM to ease the crowded hotels. We asked the authorities to either let us continue. Either live in the allocated residence, or find an alternative for us,” a Sion MARD spokesperson said.
News sourse : Hindustan times
