Ranchi, June 5: A day after it began sacking striking doctors, the state government decided to take the help of medical practitioners in the army, the public sector Heavy Engineering Corporation and the labour department to man public health centres (PHCs).

“We are likely to get 20 doctors each from the military and HEC, and we have a 39 doctors in the labour department. These doctors will be given the charge of primary health centres that are close to their place of work,” said health secretary Siyaram Prasad Sinha.

Around 600 doctors on contract have been on strike for over a week now, demanding regularisation of service. But Sinha claimed health services up to block levels had remained undisturbed. “Some additional primary health centres and sub-centres have been affected, but we have made internal arrangements,” he said.

Sinha asserted that the government could not fulfil the demands of the contractual doctors. “How can we appoint a set of doctors through written test and the other by mere interviews?” he said, making it clear that a written test conducted by the JPSC followed by interviews was the only way out.

Yesterday, the government terminated the contracts of as many as 129 doctors for refusing to join duty. But today, there was still no clarity on the exact number of doctors sacked. Health minister Bhanu Pratap Sahi said since 245 doctors had joined work, around 350 doctors would be sacked. Officials in his department, however, said 310 would be sacked. “The exact figures are being compiled as reports from civil surgeons are still coming in,” said Sinha.

In Ranchi district, among 141 contractual doctors, 120 had been sacked as 21 doctors joined duty by midnight, according to city civil surgeon Shyam Sunder Singh.

But Jharkhand Contract Doctors’ Association president Bimlesh Singh maintained the government was fudging numbers. “The figures are misleading because 553 contract doctors would assemble tomorrow in Ranchi.” IMA state secretary R.C. Jha said the 553 doctors would hold a silent protest march to Raj Bhavan to hand over a memorandum to Governor Syed Sibtey Razi.