PESHAWAR, June 12: A strike being held by house job doctors at the Khyber Teaching Hospital in protest against the government for not raising their monthly stipend entered its fourth day on Sunday. The strike has been badly affecting patients’ care at the hospital because at least 200 house job doctors are on complete strike.

They are demanding increase in their stipend and end to the partice of charging them for using air-conditioners in hostels.

The house officers said that the government had promised to raise their monthly stipend from September 2004 but so far it had not been done so.

They said that they had also been given assurances that the electricity charges would not be deducted from their stipend.

Representatives of the house job doctors said that no promise had been fulfilled so far as a result of which the house job doctors at the hospital were finding it hard to perform their duties.

They said that they performed duties in the wards, OPDs and operation theatres, while the stipend given to them was not enough to meet their requirements.

Meanwhile, an official of the hospital said that a summary had been sent to the secretary, health, asking him to issue directives regarding payment of stipend to the house officers from September 2004. He said that air-conditioner charges would be deducted from their stipends.

He said that as soon as the secretary, health, approves the summary, the amount would be paid to them.

He said that the demands of the house officers had been met and their strike was illegal and uncalled for.

DEVELOPMENT: The National Commission for Human Development (NCHD) will launch its operations in two more areas of FATA — Mohmand and Orakzai agencies.