Doctors observe black day in Jalandhar

Tribune News Service

Jalandhar, January 2

A strike was observed today by the doctors of the Civil Hospital against the new NMC Bill of the civil hospital. They stopped working after 12 at noon. Only emergency cases were being considered by them. Around 50 doctors from the civil hospital took part in the strike.

Dr Raman Gupta, an ENT specialist said they are against this new Bill.

They are demanding a rollback of the Bill as it is not acceptable to them.

The doctors said this will push up the cost of medical education while the standard of medical education will decline.

"We have expressed solidarity with IMA students’ wing regarding their concern for NMC for which we decided to observe the day as black day," the doctors said.

The strike was also observed in Nawanshahr where doctors suspended the work today.

Dr Sooch said the IMA would be forced to go for long time agitation if the government did not consider the demands of the IMA which had strongly opposed the Bill and appealed to the Prime Minister to revise it in the larger interest of the medical profession. 

He said the NMC would "cripple" the functioning of the medical profession by making it completely answerable to the bureaucracy and non-medical administrators. 

Later, a rally was held which commenced from Hargobind Nagar and culminated at Tehsil Complex. 

The protesting doctors submitted a memorandum to Jyoti Bala, SDM, Phagwara, to forward it to the Prime Minister and the Members of the Parliament.