IMA calls for all-India strike on Monday, non-essential services unavailable from 6 AM

Image Courtesy: ANI

NEW DELHI: The Indian Medical Association (IMA) on Sunday announced that it will hold a nationwide protest on Monday, adding that all the non-essential services, including OPDs, will be discontinued from 6 am during the protest. The IMA, however, said that casualty and emergency services will continue to function as usual.

Indian Medical Association (IMA) to hold a 24-hour-long nationwide protest tomorrow; all Non-Essential Services including OPDs will be closed starting from 6 am. IMA will also stage a 'dharna' at IMA headquarters in Delhi starting 10 am tomorrow.

— ANI (@ANI) 16 June 2019

IMA will also stage a ‘dharna' in Delhi starting 10 am on Monday to express solidarity with the junior doctors agitating against the assault of their colleague by the relatives of a deceased patient in West Bengal.

Meanwhile, the agitating junior doctors of NRS Medical College in West Bengal on Sunday agreed to meet Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee to end the impasse but stressed that the meeting must happen in front of media. "We are keen to end this impasse. We are ready to hold talks with the chief minister at a venue of her choice, provided it is held in the open, in the presence of media persons, and not behind closed doors," the doctors said. The junior doctors agreed to meet West Bengal chief minister after a two-and-half-hour-long meeting of their governing body, 

A spokesperson of the joint forum of junior doctors said that the Chief Minister can decide the venue of the meeting but it should be held in the open. The spokesperson, however, remarked that the venue should be spacious enough to accommodate representatives from all medical colleges and hospitals in the state. It may be recalled that Mamata had invited the agitating junior doctors for a closed-door meeting on Saturday, but the doctors had refused to meet her.

The doctors said that they were hopeful that the CM will ensure that the issues will be resolved and their demands are met. "We want to join our duties as early as possible in the best interests of the common people once all our demands are met with adequately and logically through a discussion. We are hopeful that the chief minister will be considerate enough to solve the problems," said the spokesperson.