After govt's assurance, Junior doctors defer strike plan

VISAKHAPATNAM: The AP Junior Doctors Association (APJUDA), which had given a call for a state-wide indefinite strike demanding a hike in stipend and release of the pending arrears, has suspended the strike for two days and appealed to all its members to attend to their duties from Wednesday.

Earlier, the association had served a strike notice to the authorities concerned that all the junior doctors in the state would boycott their duties at government hospitals, beginning Tuesday.
However, the APJUDA decided to defer their strike after its leaders had a discussion with health minister Kamineni Srinivas in the presence of NTR Health University vice-chancellor CV Rao and medical education director Subba Rao on Monday night.

The APJUDA members in Vizag on Tuesday said that the minister had agreed to fulfil all the demands made by the junior doctors within two days. “After the health minister’s assurance, the APJUDA state committee has decided to suspend the strike temporarily for two days. We will boycott the duty, if all the demands are not fulfilled by March 8,” APJUDA state leader Venkata Ramana from Tirupati told TNIE over phone.

Meanwhile, the junior doctors of Andhra Medical College (AMC) staged a demonstration at the King George Hospital (KGH) on Tuesday, without boycotting their duties.  “However, this a temporary suspension of the strike. The government has promised to hike the stipend of junior doctors by 15 per cent, immediate payment of the pending arrears, orders for immediate registration for MBBS and PG pass-outs as per the MCI norms without one-year senior residency stint and the monthly payment of stipend to all junior doctors. We will decide the further course of action after March 8,” said Kodanda Ram, APJUDA leader from Vizag said.