Doctors and health workers from Hindu Rao hospitals sat on the road chanting “no pay, no work”.
New Delhi:
Amid the crisis over the outstanding salaries of doctors at Delhi public hospitals, many doctors on Thursday expressed anguish over the issue, saying they would courageously fight the pandemic situation and serve the people, but “the warriors Covid cannot walk on an empty stomach “.
Resident doctors at three hospitals run by the North Delhi Municipal Corporation (NDMC) are currently staging agitation to demand the release of their salaries owed over the past three months. In addition, an association of permanent doctors from hospitals run by civic authorities warned against holding an indefinite strike from October 19 if their demands were not met.
Resident doctors at Hindu Rao Hospital were the first to come out in protest after “getting fed up not hearing their voices when they were agitating online.”
“Are the doctors superhumans? Don’t we have material needs, rations to take home, families to feed, loans to repay? Do the authorities just expect us to continue? to work without pay, and for how long? They asked people to ring the ‘thalis’ I feel all these gestures, I feel hollow for us right now, “said Abhimanyu Sardana, President of the GDR of the Hindu Rao hospital.
Until a few days ago, the facility was a dedicated COVID-19 facility.
It was removed from the list of COVID-19 facilities due to the low average occupancy rate of hospital beds and the request received from NDMC with immediate effect, according to a Delhi government order. The city government on Saturday ordered the transfer of COVID-19 patients from the municipal hospital to its own facilities.
The number of coronavirus infections in Delhi rose to 3.17 lakh, as authorities reported 3,324 new cases on Wednesday, while 44 deaths brought the death toll to 5,898. The number of active cases was 21,903 on Wednesday. , of whom 12,360 were in home isolation.
Mr Sardana announced on Thursday that a joint protest was scheduled in Jantar Mantar on Friday by resident doctors at the 900-bed Hindu Rao Hospital, 450-bed Kasturba Hospital and Rajen Babu Tuberculosis Hospital, all three being installations of the British era.
“No resolution of the problem seems to be in sight. We doctors have just become like a football between various parties. Nobody cares about us, but they expect us to take care of people in this COVID-19 crisis. “, did he declare.
RR Gautam, president of the Municipal Corporation Physicians Association (MCDA), said: “Society treats us like gods, but it should accept that we are human.”
“As doctors, it is our solemn duty to serve humanity, and we will continue to do so. They call the doctors Covid warriors. But, how long will an army march on an empty stomach? Soldiers stationed in the inhospitable Siachin, will they be able to fight adversaries without food? ”He asked.
MCDA, an association of senior permanent doctors from municipal hospitals, was formed in 1974 and has around 1,200 members, said Gautam.
The six main hospitals managed by NDMC whose employees are members of MCDA are: Hindu Rao Hospital, Kasturba Hospital, Mrs. Girdhari Lal Maternal Hospital, Rajen Babu Tuberculosis Hospital, Infectious Disease Hospital Maharishi Valmiki and Ram Balak Hospital.
“We are demoralized, depressed and our family’s well-being is at stake. We need our wages. Our demands include the immediate release of wages pending from July to September; arrears as well as pensions and other benefits granted to doctors who have retired for several months, ”Gautam said.
Doctors are hailed as “Covid warriors”, but authorities expect them to fight this battle “on an empty stomach,” he said.
Sunil Prasad, the president of the GDR at Kasturba hospital, whose members have gone on a week-long strike since Wednesday because of the wages owed, said “we are tired of being treated like a balloon football between various parties “.
“We doctors want this problem resolved and a life of dignity. We are not asking for any luxuries. Why have our voices been ignored?” He asked.
Mr Prasad said, “The gestures of ‘taali, thaali and pushp varsha’ (applause, utensil kicking and floral showers) during the lock ringing are hollow for us right now. Will it feed us and our families? In fact, these gestures in retrospect, it seems so ironic to us. “
The issue of outstanding doctors’ salaries has become a flashpoint between the ruling AAP in Delhi and the three civic bodies led by the BJP, in particular the NDMC.
Both accused each other of “playing politics” on this issue. While the AAP waiver said funds had been released to civic bodies, NDMC Mayor Jai Prakash alleged that “the city government has not released millions of funds due to businesses.”
Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain has repeatedly said that if “civic bodies cannot run its hospitals and pay doctors’ salaries, they should turn the facilities over to the Delhi government.”
MCDA President Gautam said: “We are doctors, we want to serve people. We just want our salaries. But, in this candidacy, we don’t want to be used as a political instrument by anyone.”
(Except for the title, this story was not edited by GalacticGaming staff and is posted from a syndicated feed.)
