Medicos call off agitation

 BHUBANESWAR: The junior doctors and medical students of the three Government medical colleges and hospitals of the State on Saturday called off their cease work agitation.   The decision was taken following a meeting of the members of the Joint Action Committee (JAC) of junior doctors of the three MCHs with Health Minister Prasanna Acharya and senior officials of the Health Department here in the evening.  “We have decided to call off the cease work agitation honouring the Orissa High Court direction and keeping faith in the Government to take speedy steps to resolve all our problems. All the doctors and students in the MCHs have resumed duty from this evening itself”, JAC spokesperson Dr Nilamadhab Prusty said.  The JAC termed the meeting with Health Minister fruitful and the Government finally showing resolve to address the long-standing problems. The Government has assured the agitating medicos of taking immediate steps for campus unification and removal of all encroachment from the VSS Medical College and Hospital, Burla. With the High Court directing provisioning of adequate security, armed police force have been deployed. The Government has also professed to take a favourable stance on regularisation of the duty of the medicos covering the entire period of agitation.    The agitating doctors were also under increasing pressure following the High Court’s ruling on the issue and asking them to return to work. Two petitions have been filed by the junior doctors seeking immediate action on security and other issues. Another petition filed by advocate Gadadhar Sahoo seeking declaration of the strike as unlawful for paralysing the services in the tertiary health care sector and causing immense problems and sufferings to the patients in times of floods.  The medicos of VSSMCH had started their ceasework about 14 days back following attack on them by supporters of Burla BJD leader Sisir Dandia. They had demanded arrest of Dandia and protection of doctors in the campus. They had been joined by the medicos of the SCBMCH Cuttack and MKCGMCH Berhampur subsequently.