LAHORE: The Young Doctors Association (YDA), Punjab, kicked off an agitation movement from Mayo Hospital on Monday to protest inordinate delay in the provision of service structure.

Scores of young doctors staged a rally from the hospital which took a round of Nila Gumbad and ended at the starting point. YDA Punjab President Dr Ajmal Chaudhry, who led the rally, announced the protest would be intensified gradually.

He said the YDA would take the protest movement to its peak within weeks as it had demonstrated in 2011 when the government booked and arrested several young doctors in the wake of a 37-day long strike at the state-run hospitals all over the province.

He said YDA’s major demand in 2011 was the provision of service structure to young doctors.

“Unfortunately the demand was yet to be materialised due to the apathy of the Punjab government,” he said adding the YDA showed its patience despite a delay but the bureaucracy finally forced it to take to the street.

The protesting doctors raised slogans against the Punjab government as well as health department officials for not resolving the legitimate demand of service structure.

They vowed to continue their agitation as per the schedule announced by the YDA.

Published in Dawn January 27th, 2015

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