Resident doctors at PGI Rohtak go on strike in solidarity with agitating medical students

NEW DELHI: More than 500 resident doctors at PGI, Rohtak, declared an indefinite strike on Thursday in support of MBBS students who have been protesting against a state government policy to make them sign a stiff bond during admissions.
Students taking admissions in government medical colleges have to sign a bond of nearly Rs 40 lakh — Rs 10 lakh for each year of the course — as a guarantee that they will serve in rural health facilities for seven years after their course is over. The strike by resident doctors left many services at PGI crippled — OPDs, ward duties and elective surgeries were put on hold for the next two days. The Resident Doctors’ Association (RDA) said it had given the government 48 hours to respond to their concerns, failing which they would intensify their strike. The students questioned the logic behind the bond policy when there was no guarantee that they would land a government job at the end of their courses.