Himachal doctors go on 2-hr pen-down strike to protest against reduction of NPA in Punjab

Tribune News Service

Shimla, June 28

Doctors held a pen-down strike for two hours across the state in protest against the reduction of Non-Practising Allowance (NPA) to 20 per cent and its delinking from the basic pay in Punjab. “Except for medical colleges, the doctors of all medical facilities, from district hospitals to primary health centres, observed a two-hour pen-down strike today,” said Himachal Medical Officers Association (HMOA) secretary Dr Pushpender Verma. “The medical colleges doctors will observe a pen-down strike tomorrow,” he said.

The doctors are supporting their Punjab counterparts because Himachal follows the Punjab pay scale and if the decision to cut the NPA is not rolled back in Punjab, the deduction will automatically be implemented in Himachal, too.

The HMOA representatives gave a memorandum to the Himachal and Punjab Chief Ministers through the Secretary Health to withdraw the recommendation. “We will see what happens in Punjab and then decide our future course of action,” said Dr Verma.

Meanwhile, the Himachal Pradesh Veterinary Officers Association (HPVOA) also joined the strike in support of the protesting doctors. HPVOA secretary Dr Madhur Gupta urged the Punjab Government to restore the NPA to 25 per cent and link it with the basic pay.

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