Strike called off

After a meeting held with the Hon Health Minister in the presence of Dr Bhalodia and Dr Ketan Desai today afternoon, and after assurance from the Government, we have unanimously decided to call of the strike and resume duties.

We deeply regret the inconvenience caused to the general public in this fight for our rights.

Details on the meeting will be posted later.

Day 11: Massive rally tomorrow

The day today was spent in preparation for the massive rally planned for tomorrow morning. It will start from VS Hospital campus and end at the Gandhi Ashram where a few bhajans will be sung.

T-shirts with the GARD logo were unveiled today and distributed to the respective college representatives. All of you are urged to collect your t-shirt from them.

Preparations are under way for talks with the Government.

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Regards,

GARD

Day 10: Some more developments

Today we continued the highly successful parallel OPD at VS Hospital and it met with great success again. We will continue it in the coming days.

The National Medicos Organisation pledged it support to our movement and issued a press note regarding the same. To visit the NMO website, click here.

We also received an email from the Hon Health Minister stating the reason for their continued inability to meet our representatives. You can view the contents of that email in the post below.

Interns all over Gujarat have formed an association on the lines of GARD and will most probably join us in the strike from tomorrow.

The designs for the T-shirts and the logo have been finalized. The final products are awaited.

Meanwhile, a massive rally has been planned for Monday, starting from VS Hospital to Gandhi Ashram. Details will be made public later.

Lastly, wishing you all a very happy Friendship Day tomorrow! Our unity is our greatest strength. Keep it up!

Letter from the Health Minister

This is the email we received as a reply from the Hon Health Minister today morning. Comments are welcome.

click on the image above to enlarge in a new window

Day 9: Going steady...

The day started off with parallel OPDs being run at both VS Hospital and LG Hospital. This was a resounding success with 245 patients being treated at VS Hospital alone. The parallel OPDs will continue to run tomorrow. A medical camp was organized at the Gandhi Ashram also.

In the Civil Hospital campus, we held a signature campaign in which everyone enthusiastically took part. Letters formats to be sent by our parents to the Hon Chief Minister and to the Dean of respective colleges were distributed. Another letter questioning the reason for focal disciplinary action was submitted to the college authorities with signatures of all residents.

Focal terminations and cancellation of registrations were carried out in various medical colleges across Gujarat in another futile attempt to break our unity.

Meanwhile, attempts to meet the authorities were again stonewalled today. A delegation of the Core Committee went to Gandhinagar to meet the Health Minister but were denied a meeting.

In a show of solidarity, all undergraduate students across Gujarat went on a token strike today. A meeting of all intern doctors across the state was called today to form a central association like GARD. They have decided to join us in the strike.

All the suggestions and ideas coming in are very welcome and we will try and implement as many as possible. Slogans for the T-shirts and designs for the logo have been coming in as well and you are free to send us suggestions for the same by email or in person. Keep up the good work!

An appeal from our parents

This is an appeal to our parents to support us in our efforts. A letter format has been drafted by GARD, to be sent to the Hon Chief Minister of Gujarat and also to the Dean of respective medical colleges. The letter is supposed to be written by hand and a copy sent to each.

To download the file (in PDF format), check the downloads section on the right just below the opinion polls. Click on the Parents' Letter link > Click on the orange download button on the new page that opens and then on the limited download speed button. The file will start downloading.

Updates on today's activities will be published later today.

Day 8: A day of developments!

The morning today was spent enlisting the support of our esteemed teachers in NHL and BJMC. They showed their support for our movement by working with black arm bands today. We also received invaluable tips and ideas from them.

All of us gathered again in the grounds at the Civil Hospital. Innovative and creative ideas to get our message across to the people came thick and fast from an excited, buoyant crowd. We look forward to implementing as many of them as possible.

An email campaign has been running for 2 days now. We are looking to spread our message to as many people as possible, locally as well as nationally. Email IDs of volunteers from each college were collected today. Whosoever wishes to join and help us spread the message is welcome to do so. Just send a message to gard.gujarat@gmail.com or resident.doctor@yahoo.com and we will send u the content to be sent across.

Today, the first year DM and MCh students had to join duties due to a problem with their admission process. They did so with the utmost regret, pledging full support to the strike and with permission from GARD. The second and third year DM and MCh students are still on strike with us. Also, university registrations of around 30 students from NHL were cancelled today. These students are unfazed and have unanimously affirmed their continued support.

In a very positive development, the State Health Minister Mr. Jaynarayan Vyas has invited representatives from GARD to initiate negotiations. Developments on this front will be published on this page.

The day ended with a candle light vigil on the grounds symbolizing hope and a clearer path ahead.

Plans for tomorrow include a parallel OPD at VS Hospital and a medical camp at Gandhi Ashram, and of course a continuation of the email campaign.

Day 7: The IMA, gujarat joins in.

Click image above to get a closer look

Today, on the 7th day of our stir, the goverment seemed to be in no mood to budge! But we have a reason to cheer. The powerful Indian Medical Association, Gujarat chapter, has come forward in open support of the striking resident doctors. They are well convinced that our demands are legitimate and are of the belief that our pay packet most definitely needs a hike. They concur on the fact that we, the residents of gujarat, are amongst least compensated post graduates of our country. A press note has been issued quoting the same.

Besides this, the day's activities were replete with skits, talks, motivational singing, free medical camps in association with NGOs.

So this definitely is a big step forward. we continue to ride high on unity and hope!

Day 6 - Charge of the Light Brigade

Today's silent march from Gh-2 circle to Pathik Ashram in Gandhinagar was again a resounding success. It was symbolic of what over 2000 young medicos could do if they took to the streets. Our massive yet supremely disciplined infantry sent out a strong message to the politicians on their own home turf: "It''s high time to act! "

A memorandum quoting our demands and grievances was submitted to the offices of the Hon Chief Minister of Gujarat, the Finance Minister, the Health Minister and the Chief Secretary since none of them were available in person. Their response is eagerly awaited.

Rumormongers have resorted to dirty tactics of spreading misinformation in an attempt to create a rift amongst our ranks and to mislead the public. But we would like to assert that we stand united as one, as we always have been. Our sheer numbers speak for themselves. The battle is intensifying and it will be fought to the end.