The residents' doctors of Grant Government Medical College and JJ Group of Hospitals (GGMC JJ), Mumbai have called off their strike after the Head of the Department (HoD) of Dermatology Dr Mahendra Kura received transfer orders from the medical education department of the state. Speaking to EdexLive, the Dean of the college, Dr Pallavi Saple, confirmed the news and informed that the HoD has been transferred to Sambhajinagar.
The transfer order in Hindi, which EdexLive has access to, translates to, "Pursuant to this order, under the provisions of Section 4 (4) (two) of the Maharashtra Government Employees Transfer Regulations and Prevention of Delay in Performance of Government Duties Act, 2005, on administrative grounds, Dr. Mahendra Kumar Kura, Professor, Dermatology & Endocrinology, Grant Government Medical College, Mumbai is approved for transfer to the post of Professor, Dermatology & Endocrinology, Government Medical College, Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar."
It was on December 15, that the resident doctors along with the support of the Maharashtra Association of Resident Doctors (MARD) of the college called for a mass leave demanding the removal of Dr Kura, allegedly due to mental torture and harassment he meted out towards medicos. Despite several representations to the Dean, the Principal Secretary Dr Dinesh Waghmare and others, the residents had to launch a mass strike on December 28 as their demand was not met.
However, on the evening of December 28, the college administration received the transfer orders of the HoD. After a hard-wrung victory, the residents who called off their strike issued a statement intimating another strike if Dr Kura returned in future.
The statement issued by MARD today, December 29, read, "MARD JJH makes it clear that ALL RESIDENT DOCTORS OF JJH WILL GO ON AN INDEFINITE STRIKE IF AT ANY POINT OF TIME IN FUTURE DR MAHENDRA M KURA RETURNS BACK TO JJH." Speaking to EdexLive, the dean shared that the residents have given in writing that they are calling for a strike.
To recall, junior residents alleged that Dr Kura was harbouring an environment of toxic work culture leading to an increase in mental stress among the medicos. As reported earlier, a faculty member, on condition of anonymity, told EdexLive that no student of Dr Kura will ever speak positively about him, indicating that such is the HoD's reputation.
