Junior doctors, who are on warpath since a month demanding regularisation of their stipends, launched an indefinite hunger strike at King George Hospital (KGH) here on Tuesday.

Dr V. Kalyan, Dr B. Durga Prasad, Dr B. Jeeveswara Rao and Dr M. Phani studying postgraduation at Andhra Medical College (AMC) in various departments began an indefinite hunger strike at their protest camp at the in-gate of KGH.

“We have waited for more than a month, expressing our protest in different forms. We feel this is the only option left with us. It is now or never for all of us. On several earlier occasions, whenever we raised this demand, we were cheated by the authorities. This time we are not going to take it easy until we get some solid assurance from government,” Dr Kalyan told this correspondent.

Junior doctors here are visibly upset with the attitude of higher officials and the concerned minister in dealing with them. They felt that it was unfair that officials did not even talk to their representatives on Monday in Hyderabad.

“They were sent back by the director of medical education on Monday who did not hear doctors battling for their lives since seven days at Gandhi hospital in Hyderabad. On the one hand, they call us for talks and when we go to them, they tell us to go out,” said Dr Durga Prasad.

On Monday, they forced AMC principal Dr Shantha Rao to visit their protest camp by getting the principal’s official chair out from the office to the camp.

On Tuesday, both the AMC principal and KGH superintendent Dr Shyam Prasad visited the protest camp of the junior doctors and requested those on indefinite hunger strike to withdraw their stir.

To this, the junior doctors said they would intensify their agitation and more junior doctors would join the indefinite hunger strike in the coming days.