Haryana govt doctors go on indefinite strike
Ambala/Kurukshetra (PTI): Government doctors in Haryana intensified their protest on Wednesday, extending their strike for an indefinite period in protest against the non-fulfilment of their demands, including the implementation of the modified assured career progression scheme.
The doctors had earlier launched a two-day strike, from December 8 to 9, which they have now extended for an indefinite period.
Amid the standoff with protesting doctors, the Haryana government, on Tuesday evening, invoked the Essential Services Maintenance Act (ESMA), prohibiting any strike by government doctors. The state health department ordered the deduction of salaries of the doctors for the days they remained off duty due to the protest.
The strike was initiated following a call from the Haryana Civil Medical Services Association, which represents government doctors in the state.
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As a result, healthcare services, including essential diagnostic services, ultrasound, and CT scan at many hospitals, were affected.
Dr Rajesh Khyalia, president of the Haryana Civil Medical Services Association, said the government had promised a year ago to fulfil their demands, which included a halt to direct recruitment of senior medical officers and implementation of a modified assured career progression scheme.
"We request the government to fulfil its promise. But rather than fulfilling its promise, it is trying to suppress our voice through ESMA or issuing letters," he said.
"Our doctors are not getting promotions. "We do not understand why the government is pressuring us. Why is it not implementing its promise?" he questioned.
He further said that three doctors in Panchkula are observing a fast unto death until the demands are met.
Noting that they are ready for a dialogue, Khyalia said they have not yet received any invitation from the government for talks.
The HCMSA has been demanding a halt in the direct recruitment of SMO and the implementation of modified assured career progression.
In the wake of the strike, state health authorities deployed doctors from the National Health Mission, medical colleges, ESIC, consultants, and Ayush practitioners to ensure that healthcare services continued without disruption.
Meanwhile, in Ambala and Kurukshetra, there was not much of an impact on healthcare services due to the strike.
Civil Surgeon Ambala Dr Rakesh Sahal said that 168 doctors are enrolled in the Ambala district, and they were present on Wednesday. He informed that all departments, including lab, ultrasound and X-ray, are functioning, and that patients are receiving proper medical care.
He further assured that all community health centres and primary health centres were working smoothly, adding that there has been no impact in Ambala due to the strike.
In Kurukshetra, the strike failed to evoke a response with all doctors reporting for duty at the Lok Nayak Jai Prakash Narain District Hospital.
Chief Medical Officer Dr Sukhbir Singh Mehla said that while 23 of the 124 doctors were absent on Monday, 18 were absent on Tuesday. But not a single doctor skipped duty on Wednesday.
He said that medical services were functioning smoothly and patients did not face any inconvenience.
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At least 100 dead in Nigeria after air force 'misfire' on market, sources say
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Maiduguri(Nigeria) (AP): A Nigerian Air Force strike targeting jihadi rebels hit a local market in northeastern Nigeria, killing over 100 civilians including children and injuring many others, a rights group and local media reported on Sunday. Officials confirmed a misfire without providing details.
Amnesty International cited survivors as saying that at least 100 people were killed in the airstrike on Saturday on a village in Yobe state, near the border with Borno state, which is the epicentre of the jihadi insurgency that has ravaged the region for over a decade.
“We have their pictures and they include children,” Isa Sanusi, Amnesty International's Nigeria director, told The Associated Press, referring to the casualties.
“We are in touch with people that are there, we spoke with the hospital,” he said. “We spoke with the person in charge of casualties, and we spoke with the victims.”
A worker at the Geidam General hospital, in Yobe, said at least 23 people injured in the incident were receiving treatment. The worker spoke anonymously as he was not authorised to speak to the media.
Such misfires are common in Nigeria, where the military often conducts air raids to battle armed groups who control vast forest enclaves. At least 500 civilians have died since 2017 in such misfires, according to an AP tally of reported deaths. Security analysts point to loopholes in intelligence gathering as well as insufficient coordination between ground troops, air assets and stakeholders.
The large, remote market located near the Borno-Yobe border is known to be often used by Boko Haram jihadis to buy food supplies.
Abdulmumin Bulama, a member of a civilian security group working with the Nigerian military in the northeast, said there was intelligence that Boko Haram terrorists had gathered very close to the market and were planning an attack on nearby communities.
“The intel was shared and the Air Force jet acted based on the credible information,” Bulama said.
The Yobe State Government confirmed in a statement that a Nigerian military strike was targeting a stronghold of the Boko Haram jihadi group in the area and that “some people … who went to the Jilli weekly market were affected.”
The Yobe State Emergency Management Agency also acknowledged that an incident had occurred resulting in “casualties affecting some marketers” and said it had dispatched response teams to the area.
Nigeria's military issued a statement saying it conducted a successful strike on a “terrorist enclave and logistics hub” belonging to jihadis in the area, killing scores of them as they rode on motorcycles. It did not provide any detail about a possible misfire, but noted that motorcycles remain prohibited in conflict hot spots and “any such movements in restricted areas are therefore treated with the utmost seriousness.”
Amnesty International has called for an independent investigation into the incident, adding that the military is “fond of” labelling civilian casualties as bandits
Nigeria, which is Africa's most populous country, is battling a complex security crisis, especially in the north, where there is a decade-long insurgency and several armed groups that kidnap for ransom.
Among the most prominent Islamic militant groups are Boko Haram and its breakaway faction, which is affiliated with the Islamic State group and known as Islamic State West Africa Province. There is also the IS-linked Lakurawa group operating in communities in the northwestern part of the country that borders Niger Republic.
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