NIMS doctors' strike on; ESMA to be invoked

By Our Special Correspondent

HYDERABAD, NOV. 12. The strike by Resident Doctors of Nizam's Institute of Medical Sciences (NIMS) continued today, resulting in the authorities invoking provisions of Essential Services Maintenance Act (ESMA) and declaring the strike illegal.

The stalemate was over the doctors' demand for suspension of security personnel for alleged laxity in preventing the assault on a nurse and a doctor by the attendants of a deceased patient on Friday night. The NIMS authorities suspended three security men - Narayana, Nagappa and Shankar - but the Association wanted action against eight guards in all, including those they had named in connection with a similar incident in the hospital on October 19. However, the administration was unwilling to oblige them.

After the NIMS Dean, Dr. S. Mohandas, held unsuccessful talks with the association leaders, the authorities served a notice on resident doctors threatening to actuate ESMA if they failed to join duty by 5 pm today.

Talking to reporters, the Executive Registrar, Mr. V. Krishnamurthy, held that the administration had taken prompt action on the doctors' demands and had even posted six men from a private security agency in intensive care units, including ICCU.

He said four attendants - Penta Goud, Satyanarayana Goud, Jyoti and Krishna - were arrested by the Punjagutta police on Friday, booked under Sections 353 (assault), 448 (tresspass) and 506 (threat) but the doctors were illegally demanding booking them for attempt to murder.

The Director of NIMS, Dr. Kakarla Subba Rao, describing the flash strike as 'unfortunate,' said the administration had appointed a three-member committee to submit a report about the entire episode besides suspending the security men present on the spot.

However, the association president, Dr. Praveen Reddy, said the situation had been precipitated by `a volte face' by the administration on its offer to suspend all the security personnel by seeking more time to identify them.

In a related development, the A. P. Junior Doctors Association (APJUDA) expressed its unstinted support to their counterparts in NIMS and decided that all its members would sport black badges tomorrow. ``We are ready to go on strike, if the need arises,'' said Dr. M. Harikrishna, hon. president.

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