Manipur: Government doctors join in relay hunger strike, stand by association's charter of demands

The relay hunger strike of the All Manipur Health Services Doctors’ Association (AMHSDA) continued at District hospital Chandel campus, pressing on their charter of demands put forth by the association. The state government doctors have also joined the agitation, standing by the demands raised by the association.

The doctors under AMHSDA began their relay hunger strike by wearing black badges on November 1 followed by a sit-in protest on November 26 demanding the fulfilment of the charter of demands put forth by the association.

AMHSDA's demands included time-bound promotion and raising the retirement age of specialist and non-specialist doctors to 65 years; the creation of a Director General post for the directorates of Health Services, Family Welfare Services, Public Health, and Medical Education; the fixation of Non-Practicing Allowance (NPA) with effect from January 1, 2016, as per the 7th Central Pay Commission; strict adherence to the Transfer and Posting Policy of Health Services 2017; and allowing MHS doctors to practice.

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Similarly, doctors in Thoubal district staged a hunger relay strike in support of AMHSDA's demands.

"We demand all our eight legitimate demands which we have put forward to the state government..the government have declared that medical service to be essential, therefore our demands are also essential," said Dr Ngouniba Peter, one of the protesting doctors.
Further, he remarked that the doctors under the association should not be made to take a stronger form of agitation.

Meanwhile, IndiaTodayNE tried to contact Manipur state health minister L Jayanta Kumar Singh, however, was not available to share his views on the matter.