Strike In Up

Chennai, Sep 6 (IANS) The Hindu Munnani will conduct a hunger protest on Monday at Valluvar Kottam against the DMK government's ban on installing idols at the roadside during the Vinayaka Chaturthi celebrations.The BJP and the Hindu Munnani are up in arms after the DMK government announced that idols would not be permitted to be installed at roadsides and that immersion of these idols in water bodies was not allowed. The government in its order on August 30 said that this was to adhere to the Covid standard protocol and prevent the spread of the pandemic.This has not gone down well with the Hindu outfits, and the BJP Tamil Nadu state president, K. Annamalai questioned the wisdom of the government banning Vinayaka Chaturthi celebrations while allowing TASMAC liquor shops to function unabated.The Hindu Munnani has announced that it would install one lakh idols at the residences and celebrate the Vinayaka Chaturthi festival. The Government has said that the festival has to be confined to the residences of the people. The organisation has also called upon the people to worship at Vinayakar temples and pray for good sense for the Tamil Nadu government to allow Vinayaka Chaturthi celebrations.BJP state president K. Annamalai has also said that the party would conduct protests across the state against the DMK government's decision to ban installing idols at waysides.Hindu Munnani Tamil Nadu state president Kadeswara C. Subramaniam has said that the organisation would go ahead with the Vinayaka Chaturthi celebrations on September 10. He also demanded that the DMK government conduct talks with the Hindu Munnani leaders immediately.While speaking to IANS, Kadeswara. C .Subramaniam said, "The DMK government of Tamil Nadu is showing its true colours and is against the Hindu interests. The Hindu Munnani is conducting a hunger protest against the draconian policies unleashed by the DMK government against Hindu festivals and we will strongly oppose this across Tamil Nadu."The BJP has also raised the issue in the Tamil Nadu Assembly with party legislator M.R. Gandhi calling upon the government to permit Vinayaka Chaturthi celebrations across the state.However, state Minister of Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Department P.K. Sekar Babu in his reply said that the state government was only taking action on the basis of a circular issued by Union Home secretary Ajay Bhalla directing all states to take suitable measures to prevent crowd control and to avoid the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic.DMK propaganda secretary, T. Sabapathy Mohan told IANS, "The BJP and Hindu Munnani are trying to politicise the issue. The government's ban is only for the welfare of the people and to prevent the Covid pandemic spread and nothing else. People know the real issues and politically charged issues and they will see through the plans of these organisations."--IANSaal/dpb

New Delhi, Aug 19 (IANS) The All India Institute of Medical Science may see its Officers Association going on strike by the end of this month to press for their demands, including cadre review "which has not been done for last 30 years".The Officers Association of AIIMS has submitted a memorandum to the AIIMS administration with their demands, saying cadre review has not been done since 1992 and the Health Ministry and AIIMS should seriously consider the matter.Officers Association of AIIMS President Ajeet Singh said that they have written many times to the Health Ministry in the past, but got no response. "Now the Health Minister has also changed, but our demands are still unanswered. We are requesting the AIIMS administration to undertake a cadre review which has not been done for last 30 years. Once the cadre is reviewed, the employees of Officers Association AIIMS can be promoted, but no consideration has been given so far," said.The association's other demands include the review of AIIMS's contribution in national pension scheme. Ajeet Singh claimed that other government offices contribute 14 per cent in the NPS, but AIIMS offers only 10 per cent.He also said that Delhi's AIIMS, Chandigarh AIIMS, and PGI Puducherry Hospital fall under the same category, but all are being given different pay scales. "A coordination committee was constituted in 2012 at Deputy Director level with Delhi AIIMS, Chandigarh AIIMS, and PGI Puducherry to solve such issues but all has gone in vain and nothing has been achieved," he said.If the AIIMS administration will not respond to our demands, we will go on strike by the end of this month, he warned.--IANSavr/vd

Chandigarh, June 25 (IANS) Amidst the pandemic, medical services were badly hit in Punjab on Friday after doctors of state-run hospitals joined a day-long strike to protest against the Sixth Pay Commission recommendations on de-linking non-practicing allowance (NPA) from the basic pay.The impact of the strike was seen more in rural areas of the state.Medical services in the out-patient departments (OPDs) were severely affected due to the strike. However, emergency services were exempted from the strike.Patients and their attendants blamed the government to resolve the issue amicably."The common man suffers more because of the strike as they couldn't afford the costly private treatment," Gurdev Singh, a resident of Amritsar who brought his mother for treatment, said.The call for strike was given by the Joint Punjab Government Doctors Coordination Committee, which is supported by the Punjab State Veterinary Officers Association, the Punjab Medical Teachers Association, the Rural Medical Officers Association, the Punjab Dental Medical Officers Association and the Punjab Ayurveda Officers Association.Chief Minister Amarinder Singh on Thursday constituted an oversight committee of ministers to resolve the grievances of the employees of the government.Local Government Minister Brahm Mohindra, Finance Minister Manpreet Badal, Social Justice Minister Sadhu Singh Dharamsot, Medical Education and Research Minister O.P. Soni and Health Minister Balbir Sidhu will be a part of the committee.The Chief Minister also directed the Chief Secretary to constitute an officers' committee to personally listen to the grievances of the employees of various departments.--IANSvg/in

Amaravati, June 9 (IANS) Following negotiations and assurances from Andhra Pradesh Health Minister Alla Kali Krishna Srinivas, hundreds of junior doctors called off their strike on Wednesday."Our demands were positively heard and in response proposals were made by the government for the same. We have been given a few assurances regarding the demands," said a statement issued by the Andhra Pradesh Junior Doctors' Association (APJUDA).The assurances included an ex-gratia of Rs 25 lakh in the event of a junior doctor succumbing to Coronavirus while discharging Covid duties."Any doctor who succumbs while serving during the Covid pandemic will be given an ex-gratia amount of Rs 25 lakh by the state government irrespective of the amount given by the Central government," said the statement.According to Rahul Roy, president of APJUDA, the first beneficiary of this ex-gratia would be Kandikatla Rosy, a house surgeon from the 2016 batch at Eluru's ASRAM Medical College.While caring for several Covid patients at the medical college, Rosy unfortunately contracted the virus and succumbed to it later.The junior doctors are expecting that the government would pay the ex-gratia to Rosy's kin within 2-3 days.The other assurances include the state government paying the medical bills of any doctor getting infected while discharging Covid duties, increased protection for duty doctors at hospitals and resolving the stipend issues."A request was made regarding the provision of an incentive/hike in stipend as a gesture of appreciation and encouragement for junior doctors, which was received positively by the minister," said the note.The junior doctors said that they are calling off the protest keeping the pandemic in view, even before a government order was released on these assurances."Considering the personal assurances of the minister himself, all post-graduates and house surgeons have decided to call off the strike and resume duties from today (Wednesday)," the statement added. --IANSsth/arm