Sambalpur, May 1: Junior doctors at the Veer Surendra Sai Institute of Medical Sciences and Research (Vimsar) in Burla today resumed their cease work agitation, demanding fulfilment of their nine-point charter of demands.

In order to tackle the situation, the authorities of Vimsar were forced to cancel the leave of all other doctors.

Earlier, the Junior Doctors' Association had gone on strike over their demands on January 12. But they suspended their agitation on January 21 after discussions with health minister Atanu Sabyasachi Nayak, who assured that their demands would be fulfilled soon.

The doctors had resumed their strike on April 1 but had suspended their protest till April 30 after the hospital authorities had promised to fulfil their demands.

"Though we were assured that our demands would be met by April 30, only one demand has been fulfilled so far. No visible steps are being taken to take care of our other demands. The undergraduate students and the house surgeons of the institute have also extended their support to our agitation," said Shankar Ramchandani, the president of Junior Doctors' Association.

"We want patients to get quality health care and students to get a better study environment here. Both students and patients will benefit if our demands are met. Yet no concrete steps have been taken to look into our demands," said Ramchandani.

The demands of the medics include installation of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) machines at the health centre, delegation of financial and administrative power to the Vimsar authorities, shifting of female medicine ward to the new building, strengthening the security on the premises of the institution, round the clock water and electricity supply to the operation theatres, labour rooms, sick newborn care unit, ICU, medicine wards and the hostels of the institution, increase in the library fund and library staff members for better teaching facilities, filling up of vacant teaching and non-teaching slots of the institution, make the regional diagnostic centre functional round the clock and a proper canteen on the premises of the hospital for doctors.

The Vimsar authorities held a discussion with the agitating junior doctors today afternoon, but it yielded no solution.