Upset over the recent decision of the Punjab health department to transfer the state's 523 specialist doctors, an association of government doctors Saturday announced that it will go on a two-day strike beginning Monday.
The strike call was given by the Punjab Civil Medical Services (PCMS) Association Saturday to protest against the mass transfers. The strike is likely to cripple government hospitals and health centres across the state.
The decision to resort to strike was taken after a meeting of the PCMS association in Ludhiana, 110 km from here.
The association said that its members would only provide emergency services and delivery services for pregnant women during its protest. Doctors are unlikely to provide out-patient department (OPD) services or conduct post-mortem.
Association general secretary Gagandeep Shergill said that their agitation will continue till the order of mass transfers was withdrawn.
Health Minister Madan Mohan Mittal has justified the mass transfers saying that this was done to improve services.
