Doctors in Himachal end pen-down strike

Shimla, June 3 (IANS) Doctors in Himachal Pradesh on Saturday announced to end their pen-down strike after meeting Chief Minister Sukhvinder Sukhu here who assured that the government has not abolished their non-practicing allowance (NPA) but was withdrawn for the time being.

The Chief Minister also accepted demands of delegating the drawing and disbursing officer (DDO) powers to the principal of the medical colleges, giving representation to the doctors in the Himachal Pradesh Medical Corporation and time-bound promotion, an official statement said.

He also assured that contractual doctors would not be deprived of NPA benefits.

Sukhu said the doctors' strike was illogical as the state government had not stopped the NPA of the doctors working in various health institutions and they should have to come forward to discuss the issues with the government before going to the strike.