IMPHAL, Jan 10 (NNN): Outpatient Departments (OPDs) in all Government-run hospitals in Manipur were crippled for the second consecutive day on Tuesday as doctors in the State went on strike.
Doctors of Manipur Health Services are on strike under the banner of the All Manipur Health Services Doctors’ Association (AMHSDA), pressing the State Government to address their four-point charter of demands.
The doctors resorted to the closure of OPDs while alleging that the Manipur Government had ignored their demands.
The AMHSDA has been pressing the State Government to address their four-point demand, which included among others, time bound/scale promotion, extension of superannuation age of specialist and non-specialist doctors to 65 years as administrative post as per the declaration of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The doctors’ body also demanded inclusion of non-practicing allowance (NPA) in the basic pay with effect from January 1 of 2016 as per the 7th Central Pay Commission and major amendment of the outdated MHS rules 1982.
The doctors commenced their strike in the last week of October last year with an eight-point charter of demands. It was, however, reduced to four points after a ministerial level meeting of November 18, 2022.
Alleging that the State Government ignored their demands, the AMHSDA on January 5 announced that doctors would abstain from attending the OPD services with effect from January 9.
The closure of the OPD will continue until the demands are addressed by the Government, according to a statement issued by the AMHSDA.
With the suspension of the OPD services in Government-run hospitals, people needing OPD services rushed to the RIMS hospital and JNIMS hospital in Imphal as these hospitals are outside the purview of the strike.
RIMS is a Centrally run hospital while JNIMS is run by an autonomous body of the State Government.
