Ongole: Prosecute Baba Ramdev, demand doctors

Ongole: Members of the Ongole branch of Indian Medical Association demanded that the government pass a law with IPC provisions to protect healthcare workers against the attacks, complete vaccination to all on a war-footing and immediately sanction the announced ex-gratia to the families of doctors, who died while treating Covid patients.

In a press meet here on Thursday, the doctors said that the they will protest against the physical and verbal attacks on the doctors, by wearing black badges and flags at their hospitals on Friday. But they will continue to attend all services, including the Covid care.

Speaking at the press meet, the IMA Ongole branch president Dr Manne Veeraiah Chowdary and secretary Dr Jaladi Mani Babu said that the incidents of people attacking the doctors when they are angry with the hospital managements have increased exponentially for a while.

He added that the government has failed in controlling people like Baba Ramdev who is criticising the modern healthcare, the vaccination programme, etc to mislead the public.

He said that though the Union government announced to provide Rs 50 lakh as ex-gratia to the kin of Covid martyrs under Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Package, but could provide the benefit to only 168 in the total 1400 plus doctors who died of the deadly virus.

Though there is a scarcity for doctors, nurses, technicians, lab reagents, oxygen and everything, the services of doctors to save the Covid patients are not being recognised, they lamented.