Mumbai, July 14: The resident doctors strike in Maharashtra entered the seventh day today even as the state government offered a stipend hike of Rs 6000 for every doctor after giving an ultimatum to return to work.
Although the resident doctors demanded for a stipend hike of Rs 7000, the Minister for Higher and Technical Education Rajesh Tope and Minister of State Suresh Shetty after negotiations with them said that the government’s offer was a hike of Rs 6000 and beyond this none of their demands will be entertained, sources said.
Resident doctors and interns under the aegis of Maharashtra Association of Resident Doctors (MARD) also met Principal secretary for health education Bhushan Gagrani and other senior government officials earlier in the day to negotiate, they said.
Services at 24 medical colleges in the state and three under the Mumbai Municipal Corporation have been affected with over 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 the college campuses.
–Agencies