Stop-gap arrangement: Govt rushes 116 PG doctors to VIMSAR

Bhubaneswar: The Health and Family Welfare Department on Tuesday evening issued a notification ordering 116 PG passouts to report for duty at Veer Surendra Sai Institute of Medical Sciences and Research (VIMSAR) in Burla at 10 am the following morning.
Apprehension over disruption in health services at VIMSAR following the cease-work agitation by PG students of the institute since Sunday, demanding removal of director Aswini Pujahari, prompted the government to take the step, official sources said.
Health Minister Pratap Jena earlier in the day had urged the agitating medicos to call off their stir and join work. “A delegation of PG students met me over the issue. I told them to first call off their agitation and then discuss the matter with me. I also assured the students that the government would certainly look into issues troubling them,” he said.
The PG students, however, remained adamant on their demands.
On Monday, efforts by the local MLA to resolve the crisis too had yielded no results.
Meanwhile, the VIMSAR resident doctors association along with PG students of SCB and MKCG have extended support to the ongoing cease-work agitation.