Doctors under the banner of Indian Medical Association's (IMA) city chapter protested against the State Government’s decision empowering mukhiyas and zilla parishad chairpersons with the right to sanction leaves for medicos, including civil surgeons. Under the new rule, gram panchayats would also maintain the record of leave of doctors, nurses and auxiliary nurses.
led by RP Thakur, president of IMA's Jamshedpur unit, the members came to the East Singhbhum deputy commissioner's office where they submitted a memorandum addressed to Chief Minister Raghubar Das.
Thakur said that such decision by the State Government is unwanted and insulting for the doctors' fraternity. He said if the State does not revoke the decision then all the doctors posted in Government hospitals and primary health centres across the State will resign on mass scale.
"We are against the decision and have gathered to express our anger. We are strongly opposed to the State Government's such decision about which we have come through the newspapers. We will fight until the decision is withdrawn," Thakur.
The IMA president said a doctor posted in any rural health establishment in a district works under the directive of the civil surgeon. "A civil surgeon is the supreme authority in a district. But how can a mukhiya understand the work of the civil surgeon and approve the leave application by the doctors," noted Thakur.
He pointed out the Government doctors are gazette officers and in this respect the officers posted in the administration like deputy commissioner, additional deputy commissioner, deputy development commissioner and sub-divisional officer are also gazetted officer and come under the jurisdiction of a mukhiya in one way or the other, and hence the same rule should be applicable to all the gazetted officers other than doctors. IMA secretary Mrityunjay Singh said the State Cabinet while passing the decision should have taken the doctors' fraternity into confidence.
Another official of IMA informed that Government doctors will assemble in Ranchi on October 25 at IMA Bhavan on Bariatu Road and march 3 km to Chief Minister Raghubar Das's Kanke Road home and hand him a memorandum against the government's decision.
There are over 1,000 members under the Jamshedpur chapter of the IMA. A large number of these members are posted in rural areas where as others either posted private hospitals.