Karnataka Health Minister Rao hopeful of resolving issues raised by docs, health staff
Bengaluru (PTI): Karnataka Health Minister Dinesh Gundu Rao on Tuesday expressed hope to find a solution to the issues raised by KGMOA and other health department employees' associations as they have called for a statewide strike.
As part of the phased statewide agitation by Karnataka Government Medical Officers’ Association (KGMOA), all Outpatient Department (OPD) services will be affected from March 11.
From March 16, doctors plan a complete boycott of duties, including emergency services, if the government fails to act.
"We have discussed with doctors and healthcare workers. We have spoken to them twice. Yesterday, we communicated the government's actions to them through our commissioner," Rao said in the Legislative Assembly.
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He said, "Their demands include issues pending for several years, such as Cadre and Recruitment Rules, the seniority list, and discrepancies in the last counselling, among others."
"We plan to resolve them. There are several other issues, I don't want to discuss now. We have called them for a meeting with the chief minister today. We will discuss and resolve what we can in the interest of the department and most importantly the public. I'm confident that the issue will be resolved soon," he added.
The minister was replying to a question raised by three MLAs, including BJP's Sunil Kumar during the question hour.
"With various demands, doctors across the state have called for an indefinite strike starting tomorrow. Supply of medicines, transfer policy and filling vacancies are the major issues they have raised," he said.
Noting that the doctors and healthcare staff have threatened to stop OPD operations from March 11 and emergency services from March 16, he said, "This is worrying. The heads of the doctors' and healthcare staff associations told the media that although they brought their issues to the government's attention a month ago, they have not been called for discussion to resolve the issue."
He further urged that the government should not take any drastic measures, like imposing Essential Services Maintenance Act (ESMA), to curtail the strike. "The government should adopt negotiation instead of conflict. They should call them and resolve the issue immediately."
Congress MLA and chief whip Ashok Pattan said the strike by doctors and healthcare staff will affect the poor.
"The government should call the representatives of doctors and healthcare staff for a meeting and resolve their issues that can be solved immediately. They should also convince them that other issues would be addressed in stages," he said.
Another Congress MLA, Hampanagouda Badarli, also made a similar demand.
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AIITA welcomes Karnataka’s ban on obscene songs in school events
Bhatkal: The Karnataka unit of the All India Ideal Teachers Association (AIITA) has welcomed the Karnataka government’s decision to strictly ban school children from dancing to obscene songs during educational and cultural programmes in government, aided, and private schools across the state.
AIITA Karnataka State President M. R. Manvi congratulated the government for taking what he termed an important step to preserve the sanctity of education.
“Such decisions to safeguard the dignity of school children and uphold the values of education are the need of the hour. This rule should not be limited to government schools alone but must be strictly implemented in all private educational institutions as well,” he said.
He further urged the government to address other concerns within school programmes.
“The government should not only prohibit obscene dances in the name of school anniversaries, but also ensure that plays and dialogues that incite religious hatred are avoided. Schools should be centres of harmony, not platforms for spreading hatred,” he added.
According to a recent circular issued by the Department of School Education and Literacy, obscene dances are adversely affecting the mental health and moral values of students.
In this regard, schools have been advised to use songs that promote nationalism, positive thinking, the greatness of Kannada culture, and value-based traditions instead of inappropriate content during programmes.
The circular also emphasises that students should be dressed in decent attire.
AIITA also backed the department’s warning that disciplinary action would be taken against head teachers if such guidelines are violated. The association has further demanded that district Deputy Directors of Public Instruction strictly monitor the implementation of these rules.
