Delhi resident doctors call off strike as govt promises to fulfill their demands

New Delhi: Over 20,000 resident doctors who were on a strike over a slew of reforms, called off their strike after a meeting with the union health ministry officials on Tuesday.

The doctors will resume their duties from Wednesday morning.

"We have called off the strike as we have been given proper time-frame within which the government will fulfil all our demands," Pankaj Solanki, President of the Federation Of Resident Doctors Association (FORDA) told IANS.

FORDA is an association of doctors of 25 Delhi-based government hospitals.

When asked if the doctors would return on strike if the demands were not fulfilled, Solanki said: "This time we have been given proper time-frame and we are pretty sure that they will implement the demands as they would not want patients to suffer again."

The meeting between the health ministry officials and FORDA representatives was chaired by Health Secretary B.P. Sharma.

Over 20,000 resident doctors from 25 government hospitals in the city went on an indefinite strike on Monday, demanding adequate stocks of life-saving drugs, security at work place, fixed duty hours and timely payment of their salaries.

The doctors had gone on a strike in February too after which the Delhi government had assured them of better working conditions. (IANS)