Docs, teachers raise voice against lax security

Ranchi/ Bokaro: Almost 400 doctors of private hospitals will join 1600 government doctors on Wednesday to boycott work over the abduction and murder of the Gumla Reproductive and Child Health doctor, R B Choudhary. The doctors will jointly demand security, state chapter of the Indian Medical Association (IMA) announced on Tuesday.
The move decided in the IMA’s core committee meeting on Monday evening after Choudhary’s body was recovered in Gumla, was an extreme step that was necessary, state IMA secretary Dr Shekhar Choudhary claimed.“Our demonstrations will continue till our security concerns are addressed by the government,” he said.
Doctors of the state machinery continued their strike on Tuesday. Barring emergency wings, health services in district hospitals, community, rural and primary health centres were locked down by infuriated doctors.
Very much like Monday, patients at the Ranchi district hospitals were denied medical assistance. Health minister Ramchandra Chandravanshi was at the receiving end of their fury as doctors boycotted a Filaria drug administration program to be chaired by him at the Doranda dispensary, forcing it to be scrapped. In the evening, the doctors took out a protest march from IMA building in Karamtoli to the Kutchery Chowk seeking Rs 10 crore compensation for Choudhary’s family and immediate implementation of Medical Protection Act (MPA).
In Bokaro, private clinics were closed while OPD in Sadar wore a deserted look. The doctors demonstrated outside the deputy commissioner’s office as their counterparts held condolence meeting at the district IMA office in Chas. Dr Alok Kumar Jha of K M Memorial, a private hospital, said that all the doctors remained on strike in protest against killing of Chaudhary. “The incident shows government apathy against safety and security of doctors”.
Earlier in the day, Chandravanshi called an emergency meeting of health department officials at his residence to end the stand of government doctors under Jharkhand State Health Services Association (JSHSA). Department sources said the minister along with chief minister Raghubar Das will meet Choudhary’s family after the completion of last rites (due on Wednesday). “The compensation package will be announced after consultation with the CM within this week,” the source informed. Chandravanshi said the demands of doctors, especially the implementation of MPA will be taken up with Das on an emergency basis in coming days. “Such attacks on doctors will not be tolerated at any cost,” Chandravanshi told TOI.
Health officials also held a condolence meeting at department office in Namkom on Wednesday. Choudhary, a rural child care officer at Gumla Sadar hospital, was abducted from a private clinic on the evening of April 30. The abductors had demanded Rs 50 lakh ransom to Choudhary’s family members.