BENGALURU: The relay hunger strike by the members of the Indian Medical Association, Karnataka state branch, entered its seventh day in Bengaluru on Sunday. They have been protesting against what they call ‘mixopathy’ (allowing Ayush doctors to perform allopathy).
The medicos condemned the “poaching on modern medicine and its surgical disciplines by the Central Council of Indian Medicine (CCIM).”
The CCIM’s notification authorises post-graduate practitioners in specified streams of Ayurveda to perform general surgical procedures.
Dr K Srinivasa, spokesperson for IMA Karnataka, said, “Mixing different forms of healthcare is risky and surgeries cannot be done on half-baked knowledge.”
“A minimum of 20 doctors will be on hunger strike each day till February 14, with doctors from Bidar, Bagalkot and Raichur having participated on Sunday. The struggle will be long drawn and if there is no response from the state or central government by the 14th, we will decide on methods to intensify the protest,” he said.
The strike is seeing doctors from all districts coming to the city to protest in rotation. They have submitted memorandums to the deputy commissioners of their respective districts, the health department and other officials. The doctors practising modern medicine are also opposed to certain clauses in the National Medical Commission Bill, 2019.
According to the Bill, the Commission may grant limited licence to practise medicine at mid-level as Community Health Provider to such person connected with modern scientific medical profession who qualifies such criteria as may be specified by the regulations.
“The other clause IMA has taken objection to is a six-month bridge course, which Ayurvedic practitioners can take, post which they can practise modern medicine in rural areas. This is detrimental to the public,” Dr Srinivas added.