Doctors are at the forefront of our fight against the coronavirus pandemic and without them it would be almost impossible for any society to fight against and protect its people against what is being seen as an unprecedented healthcare crisis. But in a latest update from the medical fraternity in the country’s Capital of Delhi, it has been reported that doctors of the Hindu Rao Hospital in North Delhi have decided to undertake an indefinite strike. The doctors in question are all resident doctors and have been protesting against the non-payment of their salaries amid the pandemic. These doctors started off a strike for three days beginning on Monday but have said that if their demands are not met by the authorities, they would go on an indefinite strike in the days to come.
President of the Municipal Corporation Doctors’ Association went ahead and said that if the doctors are not given their salaries in due time and the authorities continue to turn a deaf ear to them, they will be going on an indefinite strike. The doctors who have gone on a stroke have been protesting against the non-payment of salaries by the employers and have said that although they have given enough time to the employers to make the payments, nothing has turned out in their favour yet. The doctors had earlier threatened to go on stroll from October 19 which they said would be indefinite but they later deferred the strike in “public interest.”
Doctors of the Hindu Rao Hospital, Kasturba Hospital and Rajen Babu Tuberculosis Hospital began the protest in Jantar Mantar in Delhi. The Indian Medical Association has looked at the strike introduced by the doctors as a serious issue and has appealed to the Supreme Court to take immediate action and ensure that the demands of the doctors is urgently met. The doctors body has said, “Healthcare workers, especially doctors are a national asset and their humiliation by denying legitimate salaries is nothing but state-sponsored violence.”
While the doctors are undertaking a strike, Delhi has recorded 4,136 fresh coronavirus cases on Sunday. The death toll in Delhi has now mounted to 6,258.
