As the strike of junior resident (JR) doctors of four medical colleges of the state (Allahabad, Kanpur, Gorakhpur and Meerut) entered the sixth day, the state government directed the colleges on Sunday to issue a notice to the doctors, asking them to resume work within 24-hours or their services will be terminated.

The doctors are demanding a hike in their salary as per the Sixth Pay Commission and inclusion of non-practicing allowance in their salaries.

The resident doctors in Agra, meanwhile, called off their strike on Sunday, following assurance from the hospital administration to meet their demands.

Earlier, the protesting doctors were given a warning to join work by 8 pm on Sunday or face ESMA (Essential

Service Maintenance Act). The college principals had called the doctors for a meeting, but they refused to meet any official below the rank of secretary.

“We had told them earlier that if they do not resume work they should be ready to face ESMA and contempt of court. The government has asked us to issue them a

24-hour notice or their services will be terminated,” said Dr P C Saxena, Principal of Allahabad’s Moti Lal Nehru Medical College. “Their conduct will amount to contempt of court, as last year in a similar case, the Allahabad High Court had asked the doctors to resume work,” he added.

Services in these medical colleges, meanwhile, continued to be affected.

Of the 1,100 beds in Lala Lajpat Rai Hospital (LLR), Kanpur, less than 10 per cent were occupied on Sunday. The bed occupancy in wards of other departments like surgery, pediatrics, ophthalmology and burn unit was also low.

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