NEW DELHI, 15 May 2006 — Not willing to accept the center’s stand on the quota issue, medical students across the country decided to further intensify their anti-reservation stir even as large numbers of patients were inconvenienced because hospital services were affected.
Apart from the national capital, protests were staged in Bombay, Ahmedabad, Lucknow, Bangalore, Amritsar and Cuttack. In Amritsar, students of the Government Medical College went on a hunger strike and forcibly closed down the outpatient departments of state-run hospitals. Nearly 150 medical students went on a symbolic hunger strike to oppose the central government’s proposal to reserve 27 percent of seats in central universities and elite educational institutions for other backward classes (OBCs).
In Ahmedabad, students of medical colleges continued their indefinite strike to protest against the controversial proposal.
In Orissa, health services in three government-run hospitals were severely affected as medicos intensified their anti-reservation stir, prompting authorities to redeploy doctors from various districts.
Medical and engineering students in Bangalore staged a protest against the proposed reservations.
In New Delhi, a section of the agitating doctors and medical students went on an indefinite hunger strike yesterday, accusing police of resorting to violence on them.
Around 75 of the protesters joined the hunger strike. Students, doctors and interns of the Maulana Azad Medical College (MAMC), Vardhaman Mahavir Medical College, Lady Harding Medical College and University College of Medical Sciences (UCMS) were part of the protest along with the students of AIIMS.
They apologized for the inconvenience caused to the patients. “Our senior consultants and hospital support staff would take care of the patients,” said Nitin Jain of the UCMS.
”We have decided to go on an indefinite hunger strike and the strike will continue till the government decides to roll back its decision to increase reservations,” said Kaushal Kant Mishra, a senior resident doctor of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS). He said that even after their nearly month-long peaceful protests they were targeted and beaten up by police.
”No political party has condemned the incident so far as they are all supporting the reservations to strengthen their vote bank,” added Mishra. He said Prime Minister Manmohan Singh should intervene in the issue immediately.
”We demand a total roll back of the proposal to give 27 percent reservation to OBCs (other backward classes) and a review of the present reservation policy,” said Amitasha, a representative of students of Lady Hardinge Medical College.
Over 250 students and doctors of five medical colleges in Delhi, engineering students and some Delhi University students gathered yesterday at the AIIMS to protest the reservation policy.
Medical facilities in the capital’s government-run hospitals were crippled yesterday due to the agitation.
Patients and their family members were stranded at major hospitals with many hoping the government would take an initiative to solve the crisis soon.
