The Odisha Pharmacist Service Association (OPSA) has decided to go on a hunger-strike from July 3 protesting against the suspension of pharmacist Chaturbhuja Nayak of Babara Primary Health Centre (PHC) in Kendrapada district.
Protesting the action taken against Nayak, without conducting a proper inquiry of the incident, pharmacists will sit on hunger strike at all District Headquarters Hospital (DHH) of the State on July 3.
The OPSA has demanded to revoke the action taken against Nayak, rectify wage irregularities and implement seventh pay commission and to regularise the jobs of the pharmacists who are in service for over six years.
OPSA secretary Dipti Ranjan Swain said, “We want to attract the Government’s attention to our four-point charter of demands. First, we demand the Government to revoke the action taken against the pharmacist as he is innocent and the order has been given without any inquiry and secondly we want the Government to fulfil our long standing demand of regularising our salary.”
Nayak had been made the scapegoat for the absence of proper health care facilities in the Babara PHC including lack of doctors. Director of Health Services Dr Kailash Chandra Dash had directed the Kendrapara Chief District Medical Officer (CDMO) on June 5 to suspend Nayak for treating patients under a tree.