Expulsion notices issued to all striking resident doctors

Even as the Maharashtra government has issued expulsion notices to all striking medicos, resident doctors across the state continued their indefinite strike for the fifth day on Saturday.

The five-day-old strike paralysed public healthcare in the state despite government warnings to the Maharashtra Association of Resident Doctors (MARD) about severe action against them if they do not return to work by afternoon.

The state government has given warning to all doctors to come back to work by afternoon, but the striking doctors said they were not ready to go back till their demands of enhancement of stipend and improvements in living conditions are fulfilled.

The government said the increase in stipend amount cannot be taken up immediately, the other demands will be looked into once they return to work.

The government also appealed them to join their duties with immediate effect to serve thousands of needy patients who had to return without proper medical care and also to tackle possible spurt of monsoon-related diseases in the state. If they do not join, the government has threatened to take action under Essential Services Maintenance Act (ESMA) and court rulings as a last resort.

The resident doctors across Maharashtra, barring those from Nagpur Medical College, continued their indefinite strike for the fifth day today and said they would continue with it till all their demands are implemented.