AYUSH (Ayurveda, Yoga, Unani, Siddha and Homoeopathy) doctors staged a dharna in front of the National Health Mission (NHM) office here demanding regularisation of their jobs and Centrally-approved salary.
Hundreds of AYUSH doctors working in different Public Health Centres (PHCs) and Community Health Centres (CHCs) across the State joined the dharna.
“We have been providing health services to rural people at PHCs and CHCs over 10 years now. We are working on contractual basis at a paltry salary. Though the Union Government has approved a minimum salary of `23,100, the State Government has fixed it at `18,743. We demanded that we be regularised and paid the Centrally-approved salary at the earliest,” demanded the agitating doctors.
They threatened to gherao the State Assembly during the coming winter session.
Among others, AYUSH Doctors’ Association president Dr Jyotiranjan Gahan, general secretary Dr Tapan Kumar Dash, Dr Bijay Ketan Sahoo, Dr Bishwaranjan Jena, Dr Manoranjan Mishra, Dr Pritam Nayak, Dr Janakiballabh Mohanty, Dr Chandrasekhar Mishra and Dr Srinivas Debata were present.