Medicos in Punjab, Haryana and Chandigarh, who are agitating against hike in quotas in elite educational institutions, said they were contemplating "drastic steps" to draw the Centre's attention to the issue.
Health services in the region on Sunday remained crippled causing immense hardships to patients.
"Something drastic has to be done to draw attention of the Government. Our protests so far have simply not affected the Government. If it is sustained the Government will sooner or later have to listen to us," Dr Subh Mohan Singh of Youth for Equality - spearheading the protest said.
He, however, refrained from spelling out the "drastic step" which the doctors were contemplating to take in future. "But I must assure that the protests will remain non violent," he added.
Singh said that the OPDs and parallel OPDs would remain suspended. But the medicos would not disrupt the critical services, including emergency services, which were being handled by faculties of respective departments.
"We will not settle less than a white paper on the entire reservation policy. We also demand that the reservation policy must be reviewed. It must be found out whether the benefits have reached the right people," he said.
{{/usCountry}}"We will not settle less than a white paper on the entire reservation policy. We also demand that the reservation policy must be reviewed. It must be found out whether the benefits have reached the right people," he said.
{{/usCountry}}Claiming that the medicos' movement was gaining momentum across the country, Singh from Post Graduate Institute for Medical Education and Research (PGIMER) said that besides doctors, people from all walks of life were joining them in their protest against reservation for OBCs in elite educational institutions.