Contractual docs in Bihar on warpath

Around 1,670 doctors working in Bihar government hospitals on contract have threatened to go on strike if their services are not regularised.

They have threatened to paralyse emergency services too if their demands for job regularisation and hike in salary are not met by July 5.

“The government has failed to regularise the services of even those doctors who have been working at different primary health centres (PHCs) for four consecutive years,” Dr Abhishek Sinha, general secretary of the Bihar State Contract Doctors’ Association (BSCDA), told Deccan Herald.

The government is willing to accept their demand, but the bone of contention is Nitish Kumar regime’s directive to these doctors to appear for a written examination, which will be conducted by the Bihar Public Service Commission (BPSC). he doctors will have to obtain minimum 40 per cent marks and then face an interview for a permanent job.

“As working doctors, we do not get time to study and prepare for competitive examination,” argued Dr Amitabh Kumar, executive president of the BSCDA.