Bhubaneswar, May 16: Bowing to pressure, the Orissa government conceded to the three main demands of the state’s doctors, including granting them junior Class-I status at the entry level.

Official sources said that the state health and family welfare department notified a resolution to this effect last night.

From now on, the entry-level post for an assistant surgeon will be that of a Class-I junior staff with a pay scale between Rs 8,000 and Rs 13,500.

Besides, all regular specialists working in the district and peripheral government hospitals will be granted specialist allowance of Rs 3,000 every month. Doctors conducting post-mortem will be entitled an allowance of Rs 500 for each case.

The government has also assured to fill up all specialist posts in peripheral and interior areas, especially in tribal districts on a priority basis.

Other demands, such as enactment of a legislation to prevent mob attacks on doctors and damage to property in government-run institutions, formulation of a transparent policy for peripheral doctors and restructuring of the Orissa Medical Service Cadre are yet to be fulfilled.

Last week, 3,000 doctors working in peripheral hospitals had threatened to resign en masse if their demands were not met by May 19.

In March, government doctors had tendered a mass resignation after the government remained mum on their demands.

After the government health care system collapsed across the state, especially in the remote tribal areas, the issue rocked the Assembly.

On March 17 the state chief minister Naveen Patnaik had assured that assistant surgeons would be accorded junior Class-I status at the time of entry and the cadre would be restructured within two months to create sufficient promotional posts at all levels.

His other announcements included a specialist allowance of Rs 3,000 per month, a post-mortem allowance (Rs 500 per case) and formulation of a transparent transfer policy in consultation with Orissa Medical Services Association.

The chief minister had further assured that a new legislation would be enacted to prevent mob violence and assaults on the doctors and damage to the property in the government-run health institutions.

The doctors had deferred their agitation for two more months in view of the chief minister’s announcements.

However last week leaders of Orissa Medical Service Association had threatened to resume their agitation by resigning en masse as the announcements had not been implemented.