BMC studens begin 72-hour strike in Vadodara

Dhiren Thakkar, president of Junior Doctor Association, said, "Protesting the police atrocities on our fellow medicos brothers, we had declared 72 hours token strike."

He said, "The doctors will suspend their OPD and ward visit". However, the junior doctors (residential doctors) will continue emergency ward service.

"We are also staging parallel protest against the recent hike in the reservation," he added. He clarified that the status quo must be maintained for the earlier reservation without increasing the reservation percentage.

"We ally our self with the demand of the Delhi and Mumbai medical students," said Thakkar.

On Monday, from 8 am onwards, these students went on strike demanding the resignation of Union HRD minister Arjun Singh and action against the police authority who are behind the brutality on Mumbai's medical students, along with an apology from the Mumbai police as well as no hike in the reservation.

Markand Patel, president of Baroda Intern Doctors Association, said, "We believe that the present reservation is enough and no hike is required."

He said the government should rather review the benefit it had provided, if any, in the last 50 years through reservation policy. "We will continue the agitation till we get satisfactory outcome," he added.

Nidhi Goyal, member of BIDA, expressing her anguish, said, "The divide and rule policy implemented by the government upon the youth will affect students and the quality of education." While another medical student, Isha Parekh said, "The brutality done by the police on the students are similar to the police atrocities done during British raj."

The routine medical service of government run SSG Hospital was nearly paralysed as 1,000 residential doctors and 250 intern doctors kept away from work.

Even 1,200 strong medical students of under-post graduation kept away from their classes. When the SSG Hospital was visited by some of the media person, a complete anarchy was quite visible.

In the evening the medical students took out a protest rally denouncing the Mumbai police atrocities on medical students and the Centre's move on hike in reservation quotas. The medical students will also submit a memorandum to the district collector, state government and Central government.