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New Delhi, Oct 29 (IANS): The three-week long protest and an indefinite hunger strike by the resident doctors of the North Municipal Corporation of Delhi run hospitals has ended after the pending salaries of a majority of the healthcare workers were credited to their accounts.
The strike ended on Wednesday late evening after which the doctors resumed their work.
Mayor (North MCD) Jai Prakash reached the Hindu Rao Hospital premises and ended the strike by offering the protesting doctors juice.
"The strike by agitating doctors was called off as North Delhi Mayor Jai Prakash offered juice to the medics on hunger strike. Salaries of all doctors have been released, till September," the NDMC said in a statement.
Healthcare workers from six North DMC run hospitals were on an indefinite protest as they had not received their salaries since July. While five resident doctors of the Hindu Rao Hospital had been sitting on a relay hunger strike since Friday, senior doctors of the North Corporation-run facilities had gone on an indefinite strike on Tuesday.
"The doctors of the Hindu Rao Hospital were going on hunger strike with their demands; North Delhi Municipal Corporation had released the salary of all the doctors till September. North Delhi Municipal Corporation is making all kinds of efforts to provide timely salary to all employees," Prakash said while addressing the press.
However, Dr. Ambhimanyu Sardana, president of the resident doctors' association of Hindu Rao, which spearheaded the protest, informed IANS that salaries of a few healthcare workers are still pending, which is due to the delay in hospital's departments. "Almost 65 per cent of the doctors and other healthcare workers have received their salaries. It will be cleared to the remaining people gradually due to departmental delays," he added.
Meanwhile, Municipal Corporation Doctors' Association also followed and called off their indefinite strike, they had started to extend solidarity to the junior doctors of the North MCD, informed Maruti Sinha, general secretary of the association.
"As the salary of the last three months has been released and the administration has also agreed for the timely release of salary in future, the strike has been suspended and all doctors in all institutions will resume work with immediate effect," the statement by MCDA said.
The senior doctors had gone on casual leave en masse over their pending salaries on Monday and begun an indefinite strike on Tuesday.
On Wednesday, the strike continued in day time despite appeals from North Delhi Mayor Jai Prakash to return to work as patient services were getting affected.