Medical services in UP hit as junior docs go on strike

Three FIRs were lodged against 24 students and several others under various IPC sections, including charges of rioting, attempt to murder and loot. Kanpur Range DIG RK Chaturvedi said, “We had offered for bail of the students from the police station, but the university administration did not agree to it. All 24 have been sent to judicial custody after they were produced before the court Saturday evening.”

“The doctors are still on strike. Administration representatives have assured us that the arrested students will be released by Monday. The college administration has given a complaint Sunday evening against MLA Irfan Solanki and SSP Yashashvi Yadav at Swaroopnagar police station, but no FIR has been lodged so far,” said Dr Sanjay Kala, Proctor, GSV Medical College.

The proctor said that the college administration might approach the court if FIR is not lodged in 24 hours.

Meanwhile, medical services remained paralysed in Kanpur, Lucknow, Agra, Meerut, Jhansi and Allahabad, apart from other towns, where junior and senior resident doctors as well as undergraduate students remained on strike.

“While junior resident doctors remained on strike in several places, faculty members of all medical colleges are on duty, providing medical services to the patients so that the public does not face problems,” Balwinder Singh Bhullar, Principal Secretary, Medical Education told The Indian Express. “Even in Kanpur, the university administration has allotted duties to faculty members and essential medical services have been restored,” he said.

Strike also continued in KGMU Lucknow, as undergraduate and junior resident doctors protested.

Representatives of doctors also met Health Minister Ahmad Hasan on the issue, but did not get positive assurance, said Ashish Kumar Singh, a second year MBBS student at KGMU. “Some of the services like emergency services at Trauma Centre and Queen’s Mary hospital as well as operation theatre services were provided today, but from Monday, if the matter is not resolved, we will continue the strike and even close the OPD services,” said Singh.