Rural docs to gherao Health Directorate tomorrow in Chandigarh

The association had suspended their agitation due to the recent floods in Punjab. An urgent meeting of the association held on Monday termed this as “backstabbing by the Health minister”. The rural doctors will gherao the Health Directorate in Sector 34,Chandigarh,on July 28.

State president of Punjab Rural Medical Services Association (RMSA) Dr Aslam Parvez said the indifferent attitude of Health Minister Laxmi Kanta Chawla towards rural health has forced the doctors to protest and take to the streets.

Dr J P Narula and Dr Rajesh Sharma,advisor and spokesperson of the association,respectively,said: “There are nearly 1,200 doctors working in rural areas and serving people for the last many years. Instead of motivating them by regularising their jobs and giving them proper salaries,the government is trying to make rules only to benefit a few favourites.”

Dr Parvez said the association has written a letter to Chief Minister Prakash Singh Badal and Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal and has urged them to look into the matter urgently and give directions to the Health Minister to rollback the decision to re-employ specialist doctors.

“The re-employment policy will put an extra burden on the state exchequer as the government will have to shell out high salaries of the so-called specialists who have not seen patients for the last 10 to 12 years and had been doing administrative work in the capacity of SMOs and civil surgeons,” he said.