Patients visiting out-patient departments of various Delhi government hospitals had to return without consultation on Monday as doctors began an indefinite strike demanding better safety measures in the wake of the rape and murder of a resident doctor in Calcutta.

The strike has caused hardships to some individuals who had come from NCR towns of Ghaziabad, Gurugram, and Faridabad as early as 5 am to secure a spot in the queue.

Mohammad Vakil, who visited the LNJP Hospital from the Badarpur border, said, "I came here early morning. I have issues with my ears." "I was told to come after a week as the doctors are on strike. I was advised to follow the news to see if the strike ends," the 24-year-old patient said.

Resident doctors from multiple hospitals in Delhi, including centrally-run facilities AIIMS, RML Hospital and Safdarjung Hospital, have begun an indefinite strike in response to a call from the Federation of Resident Doctors' Association (FORDA) after a postgraduate trainee doctor was raped and murdered at RG Kar Medical College in Calcutta while on duty.

Several hospitals in the national capital are affected, with OPDs, operation theatres and ward duties shut. However, emergency services will continue to operate as usual, ensuring that urgent patient care remains unaffected.

Lovekush, who brought his 55-year-old father Subhash Singh suffering from tuberculosis (TB), said, "My father is a TB patient. As the breadwinner in my family, I have to manage everything, and the day was wasted. I'm returning home with him without any check-up." Ram Kripal, who had come from Gandhi Nagar for a respiratory problem at GTB Hospital, returned home as the OPD was closed.

Meenakshi, another patient from Sundar Nagri, had fluid in her abdomen and had an appointment for a test. However, due to the strike, doctors did not attend to her.

"Doctors are not attending to patients because of the strike. The day was wasted due to the strike," she said.

Major hospitals which are participating in the strike included Maulana Azad Medical College, RML Hospital, Lady Hardinge Medical College, VMMC and Safdarjung Hospital, Deen Dayal Upadhyay Hospital, Institute of Human Behaviour, Atal Bihari Vajpayee Institute of Medical Sciences and Allied Sciences, Dr Baba Saheb Ambedkar Medical College, and National Institute of TB and Respiratory Diseases Hospital.

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