HYDERABAD: Notwithstanding chief minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy’s decision to release Rs 34.12 crore for payment of stipend to junior doctors till March, members of the Junior Doctors Association (JUDA) have decided to continue their protest.
The chief minister released Rs 34.12 crore in addition to Rs 43.35 crore which had already been allocated towards regular payment of the stipend, the chief minister’s office said in an official statement on Monday. JUDA organised protests at all the government teaching hospitals across the state.
They also continued boycotting elective duties causing inconvenience to patients. They are, however, attending to emergency services. Association members led by JUDA Joint Action Committee convener MI Abillash marched from the Emergency Ward to the Gandhi statue at the entrance of the Gandhi Hospital and burnt the state government in effigy.
Addressing the protesters, Abhilash accused the government of being indifferent to their demands though poor patients continued to suffer. He said they would hold a meeting soon to decide further course of action. Speaking to Express, D.Suresh babu, a member of the Joint Action Committee of JUDA, said the government did not accept any of their demands but only released money for regular payment of stipend till March.
There was no question of calling off the protest until the government accepted all of their demands, he asserted.