Indore: The impasse between the Madhya Pradesh government and some 3,000 junior doctors continued with medical professionals refusing to budge despite the High Court verdict calling their stir illegal.
The state government sent eviction notices to vacate their hostels on Saturday. These doctors had resigned in protest after the High Court order on Thursday.
“Our peaceful protest will continue. They have asked us to vacate the government hostel in Bhopal, and also pay bond fees (which runs into several lakh rupees). When they can serve us eviction notices, why not release a written order increasing our stipend,” Madhya Pradesh Junior Doctors Association (JUDA) secretary Ankita Tripathi was quoted as saying by news agency PTI.
According to the JUDA secretary, they had tried to resolve the issue and sought an appointment with Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan.
However, MP Medical Education Minister Vishwas Sarang said the state government had given a stipend hike of 17 per cent responding to doctors’ demand of 24 per cent.
“The High Court has termed their strike illegal and asked them to return to work within 24 hours. We are ready to hold talks to settle the issue. We have accepted most of their demands,” he was quoted by the news agency.
Junior doctors in six Madhya Pradesh medical colleges have been staging a protest for a stipend hike and free COVID-19 treatment for them and their kin.
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