Resident doctors at Hindu Rao hospital have called off their strike as an arrangement was reached between the striking doctors and the North Delhi Municipal Corporation (NMC) on the disbursal of their salary dues.
A senior NMC official said that the salaries for the month of March have been released and they are also being paid for April. "As per the charter of demands put up by resident doctors' association, the demand for arrears will be put up before the competent authority for the release, as soon as possible," he said.
The doctors had launched an indefinite stir over non-payment of their salaries for three months on a trot. The officials had said the salaries could not be paid due to delay in release of funds by the Delhi government. However, Delhi Government released Rs 206 crore to the cash-strapped municipal corporation on Monday.
"The strike was called off as an arrangement was reached about their salaries and payment of arrears... It was done in the presence of Union minister Vijay Goel and North Delhi Mayor Avtar Singh," the official said.
Union Minister Goel in his tweet in Hindi said the strike was called off Tuesday."...The salaries of two months have been credited in their accounts, and the salary for the third month will be deposited sooner or later. And no action shall be taken against these doctors," he wrote on Twitter.
The doctors on Monday had said that the hospital should be handed over to the Central government as the corporation is unable to run it smoothly. The resident doctors had also written to the President of India seeking his permission for "suicide". In the letter, the doctors said, "Our situation has turned pathetic and we are unable to take care of our families. We do not even have money for food so we seek your permission for suicide."
However, the BJP-ruled NMC blamed the Delhi Government for its financial crisis. The corporation has been facing acute hardships in regular payment of salaries to its employees as it has been denied funds by the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) led Government.
The doctors had also complained about poor facilities, like non-availability of potable water and residential facilities for them.
The facilities at outdoor patients' department (OPD) and wards of the 1,200-bed hospital were affected partially due to the strike, before it was called off about at 1pm. However, they had set up a temporary Out Patients Department (OPD) in the campus for patients but did not join their respective departments and other duties.