NPA row: Govt docs on 3-day strike from tomorrow

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, July 10

The Joint Government Doctors’ Coordination Committee (JGDCC) today announced shutdown of health and veterinary services from Monday to Wednesday. The committee decided that OPD services would remain shut but in public interest, emergency, Covid, postmortem and medico/vetro-legal services would continue.

JGDCC convener Dr Inderveer Gill said due to the government’s silence on the issue of NPA, they were forced to give a call for strike again.

The Health Minister had recently assured the joint committee of resolving the issue of NPA within a week but no action has been taken by the government in this regard. However, when contacted, Health Minister Balbir Singh Sidhu said the group of ministers had received a report from officials’ committee and was going to meet next week. He said the government was positively considering doctors’ demand.

Dr Gill said the NPA agitation was to the save the public healthcare system. “We will oppose any move of the government that is directed to destroy it. Doctors of the state did not want to close down health and veterinary services but the government is pursuing a policy of evasion instead of resolving the issue,” he claimed.