Resident doctors in Delhi, who have been protesting over the delay in counselling for postgraduate medical courses for a fortnight, on Friday called off their strike and resumed services after purportedly receiving assurances from the Centre that their demands would be looked into, their federation said.
The agitation by the Federation of Resident Doctors’ Association (FORDA) was called off at noon, the outfit said in a statement.
FORDA president Dr Manish Nigam said the agitation was carried out by “overworked and exhausted” doctors, and after getting some assurances from the central government, the strike was called off and doctors resumed work at their respective hospitals.
“We have lived under great stress over this period, but the common cause and support of doctors kept us going,” he said.
Patient care was affected at several major hospitals in Delhi as resident doctors had been boycotting services. Their primary demand from the Centre was expediting the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (Postgraduate), or NEET-PG, counselling process.
FORDA claimed that Union health minister Mansukh Mandaviya has agreed to some key points. He has assured that the health ministry will submit a report to the Supreme Court before January 6 and publish the NEET-PG 2021 counselling schedule after the hearing on January 6, the statement said. The court is hearing a case related to the quota for economically weaker sections in medical education.
The ministry has regretted the “brutal incident of violence” by Delhi police against resident doctors protesting peacefully on December 27, the outfit claimed.
The statement said “no punitive or disciplinary action will be taken by the authorities” against any resident doctor who took part in the agitation.