Punjab docs to lay siege to district admin buildings from Monday

Chandigarh: Punjab government doctors on Thursday threatened to lay siege to the district administrative buildings from August 2 if the government failed to resolve their pending issues as promised by health minister Balbir Singh Sidhu.
The doctors are at loggerhead with the state government over the implementation of the recommendation of the Sixth Pay Commission that has resulted in reduction of their allowances, especially non-practicing allowance (NPA).
Joint Government Doctors Coordination Committee, Punjab — which comprises organisations like Punjab Civil Medical Services Association, Punjab State Veterinary Officers Association, PCMS Dental Association, Medical Teachers Association and Rural Medical Doctors Association — announced that from Monday the members of the committee will lay siege to the district offices and will not allow anyone to enter the premises.
“If the matter is not resolved, the local units will start occupying the civil surgeon offices and will make sure that no official work is done,” said senior vice-president of the PCMS Association Dr Gagandeep Shergill. If the impasse continues till August 4, doctors will occupy the director health services office in Sector 34 here on August 5.
PCMS will also kick start a signature campaign against privatisation from Monday at the district hospital in Pathankot.
Doctors will also continue to run parallel OPDs five days a week. The committee has allowed doctors to sit in their OPD rooms but have been asked not to use slips issued by the government. All patients will be dispensed medicine from funds raised by the union. So far, around one lakh patients have been examined in these parallel OPDs and medicines worth around Rs 15 lakh has been dispensed.
Doctors will continue to perform emergency medico/vetro legal cases and Covid duty. The committee will ask civil surgeons and other senior officials of the department to join their agitation. They will start charging ‘Union’s levy’ of Rs 5,100 from civil surgeons and Rs 2,100 from SMOs and programme officers.
PCMSA president Dr Gagandeep Singh said despite the ongoing struggle, the government has not yet resolved their issue. He said after the assurance given by the health minister Balbir Singh Sidhu, the doctors had postponed the sit-in for a week.