Doctors in Delhi wear black ribbon in solidarity with Haryana MBBS students protesting bond fee

New Delhi, November 7

Doctors at various government-run hospitals in Delhi on Monday wore black ribbons at work in solidarity with MBBS students in Haryana’s Rohtak protesting a policy that mandated them to pay a bond fee of around Rs 10 lakh during admission.

The Federation of Resident Doctors’ Association (FORDA) has given a call for the nationwide black ribbon protest, saying it was in response to the alleged police action against MBBS students of a medical college in Rohtak who were protesting against the “new bond policy”.

Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar on November 2 said no student will have to deposit the Rs 10 lakh bond amount at the time of admission for MBBS in government colleges.

According to a Haryana government statement, they will instead have to sign a bond-cum-loan agreement of the amount with the college and the bank concerned.

“If the MBBS/MD pass-outs wish to join the state government and serve for seven years, the government will finance the bond amount. But candidates who do not want to join government services in Haryana will have to pay the amount themselves,” the statement said.

The bachelor’s degrees of such students will be issued only after the candidates have met all the financial liabilities. The government said it has taken such a measure to encourage students to serve in government hospitals after their studies.

Many doctors at Delhi government-run LNJP Hospital, DDU Hospital, Centre-run Lady Hardinge Medical College and Hospital and Safdarjung Hospital sported black ribbons at work, a FORDA official said.

On November 5, FORDA, in a letter to Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya said, “An unwarranted fee hike in the form of a despicable bond policy followed by police action on innocent doctors who have given their best in all circumstances including the covid pandemic, shows the apathy and weak memory of the government.”

“Rather than addressing the issues and concerns of the budding doctors, the callous administration and authorities chose to fire water cannons, manhandle and forcefully drag the protesting students during midnight in this cold weather from PGIMS, Rohtak,” it alleged.

“We stand in solidarity with the doctors of Haryana,” the Safdarjung Hospital RDA said.