Sambalpur, Aug. 9: Junior doctors of Veer Surendra Sai Institute of Medical Sciences and Research (Vimsar), Burla, today resorted to cease work for a few hours after the authorities issued a notification for the election of the Junior Doctor Association.

The agitation was called off after the authorities held a meeting with the doctors.

The junior doctors alleged the authorities were deliberately dissolving the present union before the completion of its tenure. They stopped visiting the hospital wards to mark their protest. However, they exempted the emergency services from the strike.

They gheraoed the principal's office and demanded a rollback of the decision. "The swearing-in ceremony of the office-bearers of the present association took place in December last year. The tenure of the association ends in December this year. However, the authorities issued a notification for election, which is undemocratic and unconstitutional. The election is scheduled to be held on August 14 and the swearing-in ceremony will take place on August 16. We want the authorities to withdraw the decision," said president of the association Shankar Ramchandani.

"We do not want patients to suffer because of our strike. We have exempted the emergency service. The junior doctors extended all help for emergency care in the hospital," Ramchandani added.

The doctors withdrew the agitation after they had a discussion with the director of the institution, Sonamali Bag, principal of the institution Bijaya Kumar Dutta and superintendent of the hospital Braja Mohan Mishra.

"According to the guidelines of the Medical Council of India, a notification on election should be issued within a month a half of the post-graduate admissions at the institution. The notice was issued in accordance with the council guidelines. The present union has not been dissolved. It was a misunderstanding. The junior doctors called off their cease-work after the matter was clarified," said Bag.