Patna: The government has mooted an idea to appoint part-time women doctors for a fixed amount of Rs 10,000 a month to overcome shortage of lady doctors in the government hospitals.

Health minister Mangal Pandey said this in the Legislative Council on Tuesday in response to a question.

Pandey conceded that there was acute shortage of women doctors in the state's hospitals. He said the department had started the process to appoint doctors through the Bihar Public Service Commission. "But we have no control over the commission's process of holding exams, interviews and announcing the results," he said in the Council, stressing that the government would recruit women doctors engaged in private practice and ask them to be in the hospitals to attend to patients for a stipulated duration.

The issue of doctors' shortage in government hospitals has been repeatedly raised in both the Legislative Houses with legislators across party line complaining about non-availability of medicos or inadequate postings in primary health centres in their constituencies.

The complaints ring louder when it comes to shortage of women doctors.

The Bihar government had appointed around 2,000 doctors about two years ago but many of them did not join after appointment. So, right now the government is short by at least 6,000 doctors, in spite of the administration raising the retirement age to 65.

Tube well power

In a question on to sinking of tube wells, MLCs across party line expressed resentment towards not being allowed to allot five tube wells in localities of their choice as the MLAs were in the last fiscal. The scheme allowing legislators to select five localities where tube wells are to be sunk was discontinued last year after the government introduced "tap water for all" under the seven resolves.

MLAs, however, were allowed to pick five spots of their choice last year. MLCs were not though. This The issue was raised in the Council on Tuesday following complaints about unavailability of drinking water from across the state in the wake on summer's onset.

The government assured the MLCs of being allowed to pick spots for tube wells of their choice.