'Doctors' strike: Govt to ready plan B, if needed'

October 25, 2014

Bangalore, Oct 25: There is no need to panic over government medical doctors threatening to go on strike, Minister for Health and Family Welfare U T Khader said on Friday. According to him, his department will make alternative arrangements, if necessary, and ensure proper healthcare services.

Doctors strike
Addressing reporters here, he said that he was open to holding talks with the doctors and discussing their demands. œSpecialist doctors will not go on strike. Majority of the MBBS doctors have said they will not cause any inconvenience to the people even if they go on strike. Doctors who have real concern will not go on strike,  he added.

When asked about the doctors' threat to resign en masse on October 27 if their demands are not fulfilled, the minister said that the government would take appropriate decisions if they resort to resignation. But he did not divulge the alternative options before the government.

The department has no objection to fulfilling demands such as increasing the salary of contract doctors to Rs 28,000 a month and chalking out a separate transfer policy. But on providing allowances to the contract doctors on a par with regular doctors, he said that he could not go against the contract agreement. œWhy did they sign the agreement in the first place? It is not proper to change their stance after entering an agreement,  he asked. On the demand to retain medical doctors as food inspectors, he said: œHow can the government agree with such a demand when there is an acute shortage of doctors. It is unreasonable. 

Meeting with CM

Following the meeting with the minister, the president of Karnataka Government Medical Officers' Association (KGMOA), Dr Veerabhadraiah, said that Khader had agreed to most of their demands. He also agreed to schedule a meeting with the chief minister shortly. œThe health minister has assured us that a meeting with the chief minister, law and revenue ministers will be scheduled to discuss the demands. The meeting is likely to be held on October 27,  he added.

The KGMOA has asked the health department not to hand over six district hospitals to the Medical Education Department (MED). The district hospitals in Kodagu, Chamarajanagar, Gulbarga, Koppal, Gadag and Uttara Kannada have been scheduled to be handed over to the MED during the current financial year.

The association members have also demanded that the government create the post of Casualty Medical Officers (CMO) in district hospitals to ease the work of specialists. They want eight posts to be created in district hospitals and five in taluk hospitals. Along with this, they have urged the government to increase the salaries of contract doctors.

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News Network
March 17,2024

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Beltangady, Mar 17: A three-year-old boy was crushed to death under the wheels of an auto-rickshaw in front of his house at Panakaje Mundadi in Belthangady taluk of Dakshina Kannada. 

The gut-wrenching tragedy took place on Saturday, March 16 morning when the boy ran out of home to the road. 

The victim has been identified as Kaushik, the son of Chandrashekhar and Usha couple. Their home is situated adjacent to the main road at Panakaje.

It is learnt that the auto-rickshaw failed to notice the boy who suddenly darted towards the road and hit him. 

Even though the injured boy was rushed to a private hospital in Ujire and later to Mangaluru, he breathed his last. 

The Beltangady traffic police have registered a case in connection with the incident.

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News Network
March 26,2024

Bengaluru: The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has detained two suspects in connection with the Rameshwaram Cafe blast case in Bengaluru, sources confirmed on Tuesday.

The preliminary probe has revealed that the two suspects were in direct contact with the suspected bomber.

The NIA sleuths have picked up the suspects from an area in the state capital. However, a statement is yet to be made by the NIA in this regard.

Even as the investigating agencies, both NIA and state special wing CCB teams have launched an extensive search operation in various states, the bomber has remained elusive. The authorities had obtained the bomber’s images and videos from CCTV footage on March 1, soon after the incident.

Sources said that the sleuths were suspecting that the bomber had come from Tamil Nadu and was staying in a neighbouring state for two months before carrying out the blast.

The hair samples of the accused were gathered from the hat of the accused which he abandoned in Bengaluru near a religious place. The authorities have sent the samples for the DNA testing and were hoping for a breakthrough.

The Rameshwaram Cafe bomb blast took place on March 1 on the International Technology Park Limited (ITPL) road in the Brookfield area. Low intensity Improvised Explosive Device (IED) was used to carry out the blast and nine persons were injured in the incident.

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News Network
March 14,2024

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Mangaluru, Mar 14: “Hindutva is my commitment and development is my priority,” said Indian army veteran and entrepreneur Captain Brijesh Chowta after the BJP high command announced a ticket to him from Dakshina Kannada Lok Sabha constituency.

Known as a BJP stronghold, Nalin Kumar Kateel has served as the MP of this constituency for the past 15 years.

Soon after the announcement was made, 42-year-old Chowta, who is also the BJP state secretary from Dakshina Kannada constituency, sought the blessings of his parents and went to Shree Sharavu Mahaganapathi Temple and visited the war memorial to offer tributes.

A BSc graduate from St Aloysius College, he completed his executive business Management program from the Indian Institute of Management, Indore.

He was commissioned into the 7th battalion of the 8 Gorkha Rifles and served in counter-insurgency operations in Assam and Manipur and was part of Elite Ghatak team. He also served as the adjutant to the battalion. He has been associated with the BJP since 2013. He is the president of Mangaluru Kambala and organiser of Mangaluru Lit Fest.

“Humbled and grateful to our party seniors led by our commander-in-chief PM Narendra Modi for giving me this opportunity to be our party’s candidate and representative of his work and vision in Dakshina Kannada. I pledge to continue to work with even greater rigour for the welfare of our region and people driven by the mantra of ‘Nation First’. I humbly bow down to all our karyakartas & everyone who stood by me & toiled with me to make this happen. Our task has just begun, as we work towards making Dakshina Kannada the number one in the state,” Captain Chowta said on X.

Kateel welcomes change 

Meanwhile, sitting Dakshina Kannada MP Nalin Kumar Kateel has welcomed the party’s decision to field Capt Brijesh Chowta as the BJP candidate for Dakshina Kannada Lok Sabha constituency.

He said the change aligns with the party’s strategy of fostering new talent to broaden its base and activities. He hoped that he will win by a margin of more than 3 lakh votes.

Soon after the list was announced on Wednesday, the three-time MP told reporters that he has brought projects worth about Rs 1 lakh crore during the last 10 years, under the Modi government.

He thanked the party for giving him a big responsibility of leading the party in the state. “I have worked honestly,” he said.

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