All OPDs to remain shut today

Tribune News Service

Ludhiana, June 16

Doctors are going on one-day strike tomorrow and all OPDs, government or private, in the city will remain shut throughout the day. Only emergency cases will be attended to.

The doctors are protesting against the incident of violence against their counterparts of West Bengal.

A meeting of the Punjab State Indian Medical Association (IMA) was held here today. Its members condemned violence against the doctors in West Bengal.

The meeting was chaired by president of IMA (Punjab), Dr Yogeshwar Sood, and organised by the state joint secretary, Dr Deepak Parasher.

Dr Sood said violence in any form, verbal or physical, was not acceptable and the IMA had zero tolerance towards it.

He condemned the way violence against resident doctors in West Bengal was tackled. “It is highly deplorable the way the doctors were asked to join back their duty despite the fact that no action was taken against the culprits,” he said.

Meanwhile, the Ludhiana Ophthalmological Society has also condemned violence against the junior doctors at NRS Medical College and numerous such attacks on doctors by unruly relatives of patients in the country.

“We demand immediate arrest of the culprits and formulation of a strong law to discourage any such attacks on the doctors in future. In solidarity with our colleagues, all members of the Ludhiana Ophthalmological Society (LOS) will suspend OPD services for 24 hours from 6 am on June 17 to 6 am on June 18,” said Dr Sukhjiwan Kakkar and Dr Brijinder Rana, president and general secretary of the society.

“Medical education has become very costly and it is extremely costly to maintain clinics, nursing homes and hospitals. Doctors have to deal with lives and do their best to save lives and cure patients. For this, they require peace of mind and secure environment. Feeling of insecurity among doctors has increased in West Bengal. This is bad for our nation and people,” said Dr Narotam Dewan.