Our Correspondent
Kohima, April 19 (EMN): The meeting between the chief secretary of the state and the Nagaland In-service Doctors' Association (NIDA) on Tuesday to resolve impasse over superannuation age issue remained 'inconclusive' .
The chief secretary had convened a meeting with NIDA leaders amid protest in the form of taking mass casual leave.
Source informed that no decision with regard to calling off the mass casual leave was taken during the meeting.
The Angami Students' Union (ASU) on Tuesday claimed that over 500 patients were denied medical treatment in two days following the three-day mass casual leave by NIDA to protest the state government’s failure to increase the superannuation age of medical doctors.
ASU had deployed its volunteers in various district hospitals, community and primary health centres, as well as sub-health centres within the Angami jurisdiction to ensure that patients are not affected by the protest, which began on Monday.
However, it found out that a total of 515 patients were deprived of medical service at various health facilities in two days.
‘Such deprivation further created psychological fears among the patients,’ ASU claimed at a press conference in Kohima.
'This was the result of the stand-off between the state government and medical doctors. This unwelcoming situation was created by the failure to address the NIDA demand; no other action will ever be able to compensate the inconveniences created and may have far reaching consequences,’ it added.
'If government does not take up the issue seriously and if any casualties happen due to the mass casual leave, ASU will not remain a mute spectator but will take its own course of action,' it warned.
Maintaining that delaying the issue will only invite retaliation, it expressed dissatisfaction with the way the government is handling the issue.
Reiterating its stand, ASU said NIDA "deserve to enjoy" the "opportunity" of superannuation like their counterparts in other parts of India. It further said that it had nothing against the Naga Students’ Federation (NSF) but was compelled to take its own stand because of the "mismanagement" of the NIDA issue.