Mumbai, July 12: In a bold step, the Maharashtra government has ‘terminated and expelled’ all 3,032 resident doctors who had been on strike for the last five days, causing immense hardship to patients across the state. The order essentially means that the striking doctors cease to be students of government medical colleges anymore.
The impact of the strike is evident from the fact that all the civic hospitals put together saw just 12 normal deliveries on Saturday. As many as 11 lives were lost, but authorities said not all deaths can be linked to the strike.
Explaining the termination notices, joint director, Directorate of Medical Education and Research (DMER) Dr Pravin Shingare, said, “These resident doctors (who are post graduate students at medical colleges) can no longer treat patients in the wards or attend lectures in their colleges. They also lose out on the stipend of Rs15,000,” he said.
The notices were served after talks between the government and the Maharashtra Association of Resident Doctors (MARD) failed on Saturday.
“We agreed to bring down our demand for stipends from Rs45,000 to Rs35,000 but the government refused to pay even that much,” said Dr Anil Dudhabhate, general secretary, central MARD, adding that the doctors were ready to face any consequence.
The government has also refused to budge. “The demand of over a 100 per cent hike in stipends was unreasonable,” said Bhushan Gagarani, secretary, medical education. “Now, even if they withdraw the strike, it is up to the government to decide if they will be inducted again.”
–Agencies