MESMA invoked, but striking Mumbai docs refuse to budge

‘‘We have started issuing notices to 1,940 such resident doctors in Mumbai who are on strike for their various demands—if they don’t report to duty within four hours of being served the notice, the MESMA provisions will become applicable,’’ Deputy Municipal Commissioner Vijay Kalam-Patil told reporters late tonight.

He said the strike had been declared illegal under MESMA and that the process to deregister the resident doctors with Mumbai University would be initiated if they did not report to duty within four hours of receiving the notice.

‘‘We have also warned them that if they fail to abide by the notice, their residential quarters would be forcibly vacated,’’ Kalam-Patil said adding appropriate notings would be made in these doctors’ experience certificates, which would go against their careers.

Before MESMA was invoked, doctors from 11 other hospitals across the state were expected to join the strike from Thursday, taking the number of doctors on strike go up to 3,500.

‘‘These residents are not government employees, they are students and this is part of their curriculum,’’ said Medical Education Minister Suresh Shetty, adding that the doctors’ stance was akin to blackmail. ‘‘They should understand that by being educated in a government college, they are paying highly subsidised fees of just Rs 18,000 a year, while the government puts in Rs 4 lakh per doctor,’’ he added. Shetty also pointed out that a three-member committee had been set up to look into their demands. The committee, he said, would submit its report in a month. ‘‘As for the increase in stipend, we have asked them (the doctors) to give us a formal proposal and three months’ time to come up with a solution,’’ he added.