E-Paper
Stir shows no signs of let-up
THE INDEFINITE strike by undergraduate and postgraduate students of Institute of Medical Sciences, Banaras Hindu University, against enhancing reservations for OBCs in higher academic institutions, entered its second day here on Wednesday. The medical students continued to boycott all services including emergency services, out patient department (OPD) and intensive care unit (ICU) at Sir Sunderlal Hospital here today.
THE INDEFINITE strike by undergraduate and postgraduate students of Institute of Medical Sciences, Banaras Hindu University, against enhancing reservations for OBCs in higher academic institutions, entered its second day here on Wednesday.
The medical students continued to boycott all services including emergency services, out patient department (OPD) and intensive care unit (ICU) at Sir Sunderlal Hospital here today.
Normal medical services were crippled at SS Hospital in view of the RDA’s strike.
Almost 80 per cent indoor and emergency wards of different departments wore a deserted look. Several operations could not be carried out. Sources said senior doctors performed some urgent operations only. A large number of patients coming from different parts of Eastern Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Madhya Pradesh were affected.
However, the striking students continued to extend medical services from their own parallel OPD ward on IMS premises. Separate counters for gynaecology, paediatrics, surgery and medicine had been set up for patients. More than 200 patients were diagnosed and distributed free medicines here.
Students of Ayurved faculty have also set up their own parallel OPD counter to extend medical services to patients. Students of several other faculties and institutes including Arts Faculty, Faculty of Management Studies, Law Faculty, Science Faculty and Institute of Agricultural Sciences of BHU have also extended their support to the ongoing agitation.
The agitated medical students under the banner of Resident Doctors’ Association (RDA) launched a signature campaign to garner support from the students’ community against the Union government’s proposal to enhance reservation from the existing 22 per cent to 49. 5 per cent for OBCs in Central government funded higher academic institutions.
The medicos have decided to forward the signatured banner to President Dr APJ Abdul Kalam to get their demands fulfilled. Besides, the medical students staged street plays at the OPD ward of SS Hospital and Sant Ravidas Gate in Lanka area and informed the common people about the adverse impact of the quota policy.
The street plays organised by doctors alleged the UPA Government wanted to rule the country on the doctrine of Britishers’ ‘Divide and Rule’.
Besides, the medicos have also launched an awareness campaign and visited different coaching institutes, running preparatory classes of PMT and IIT entrance examinations, across the city to garner moral support from the students’ community.
Meanwhile, the authorities of IMS-BHU held a meeting on Tuesday evening to chalk out a comprehensive strategy to ensure smooth medical services during the RDA strike. BHU-IMS, Director, Prof Gajendra Singh said leave applications of all senior consultants had been cancelled. Sources said the emergency and operation services at SS Hospital could be suspended if the strike continued for long.
Meanwhile, activists of Purvanchal Mukti Yuva Morcha would take out a torch procession to register their protest against the Union government’s proposal to enhance reservation, here in Varanasi on Thursday evening, said media in charge Shivshanker Tiwari.
