Hyderabad: The Telangana Junior Doctors Association called off its strike on Thursday though the issue of ex gratia for healthcare workers who died after contracting Covid-19 in the line of duty has not been resolved by the state government.
A verbal assurance has been given to the association by the government that dependents of healthcare workers will be given an ex gratia.
Junior doctors have been given a 15-per cent increase in stipend and a government order has been issued for the purpose. Senior residents will get Rs 80,500 per month instead of the Rs 70,000 they were getting.
In a meeting with health secretary S.M. Rizvi and director of health and medical education Dr Ramesh Reddy, it was also agreed that there will be allocation of beds for doctors and their family members in Nizam's Institute of Medical Sciences.
A junior doctor said, "We wanted the ex-gratia issue too to be resolved but the government is of the opinion that it will differ on a case-to-case basis. They have promised us that they will look into this. Due to the ongoing pandemic and keeping the patients in mind, we are calling off the strike. We will resume duty immediately."
Indian Medical Association Telangana chapter has appealed to junior doctors and the government on Thursday morning to resolve the issue amicably.
