Stick for striking doctors

Mumbai, March 1: Cracking down on the striking resident doctors of Mumbai, the government tonight invoked the Maharashtra Essential Services Maintenance Act (Mesma) and gave them a four-hour ultimatum to return to work.

Basic medical services at public hospitals remained badly hit for the third day today.

“We have started issuing notices to 1,940 such resident doctors in Mumbai who are on strike for their various demands that if they don’t report to duty within four hours of being served the notice, the provisions of Mesma will become applicable,” deputy municipal commissioner Vijay Kalam Patil said late tonight.

Although the strike began on the issue of repeated assaults on resident doctors by irate relatives of patients, the doctors later expanded their charter of demands to include raise in monthly stipend, provision of decent accommodation and streamlining of syllabus and admission procedures, etc.

The strike was called on Monday after a woman, whose mother died, attacked a resident doctor at King Edward Memorial Hospital when he tried to get her consent for a post-mortem.

Exam plea

Chennai (PTI): The Tamil Nadu government will move the Supreme Court seeking a stay on a Madras High Court order striking down the state government’s regulation of admissions in professional courses, chief minister Jayalalithaa said. The court had ordered common entrance tests for all students.

Housemaids

New Delhi (PTI): The government has banned the grant of emigration clearance to women below the age of 30 seeking employment as housemaids or domestic workers in any foreign country.

Fake FIR

Chennai(PTI): Madras High court has directed the CBI to probe the alleged use of fake FIRs by Tamil Nadu police for various purposes.