Telangana Junior Doctors Association (TJUDA) has continued its strike and has not returned to work demanding assurance for their safety.
Published Aug 23, 2024 | 3:30 PM ⚊ Updated Aug 23, 2024 | 3:30 PM
Telangana Junior Doctors strike.
Even after the Supreme Court ruled on Thursday, 22 August, that no coercive action could be taken against doctors protesting the rape and murder of a doctor in Kolkata if they resumed their duties, the junior doctors in Telangana have not joined back for duty.
The court noted that the doctors had been protesting for over a week.
Recognising the gravity of the situation, the Supreme Court emphasised the need for doctors to return to work to prevent patient suffering. Following the court’s directive, major resident doctors’ associations across the country decided to resume their duties, including the Andhra Pradesh Junior Doctors Association.
However, the Telangana Junior Doctors Association (TJUDA) has continued its strike and has not returned to work.
“As per the directive of the Supreme Court, we demand a written assurance from the government that the basic safety and security issues across medical colleges and hospitals in Telangana will be addressed within two weeks. Until then, the strike will continue,” TJUDA said in a statement.
“While we respect the Supreme Court’s orders and are inclined to call off our strike, the reality is that our authorities have not responded to the directives or even acknowledged our concerns publicly or in the media. In contrast, in Andhra Pradesh, the Chief Minister himself addressed the junior doctors’ concerns and promised to resolve them,” said Telangana JUDA President Dr Rahul Kommu told South First.
On 19 August, the JUDA representative met the Telangana health minister with the representation to look into the issue of security and infrastructure in medical colleges and hospitals in the state.
“No government official, including the Director of Medical Education, has responded to our concerns, even after 10 days of our strike. Our issues remain unresolved,” said Rahul.
“We presented our demands, and while there were verbal assurances, we need a written commitment or a public address to ensure our issues are genuinely being addressed,” he pointed out.
He said, for example, a complaint about a broken door lock at Osmania General Hospital was raised five days ago, and it still hasn’t been repaired.
“If such a minor issue takes five days without resolution, it shows how little attention is being given to our concerns.
The government is responding positively and accepting our representations, but we haven’t seen any concrete action. This lack of tangible progress is why we feel compelled to continue our strike.”
(Edited by Muhammed Fazil)
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