SUBHASH MISHRA
Dhanbad, April 17: MBBS students of Phulo Jhano Medical College Hospital (PJMCH), Dumka, called off their three-day-old strike on Thursday after receiving assurances from the district administration and college principal that their grievances would be resolved within 15 days.
On the instructions of Dumka Deputy Development Commissioner (DDC) Abhijeet Sinha, PJMCH Principal Dr. Arun Choudhary, along with faculty members and senior district officials, met with the agitating students and promised to address all their demands within a fixed timeframe.
Following this assurance, the students unlocked the college gate in the afternoon and withdrew their call to boycott Outpatient Department (OPD) services.
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Strike Over Poor Infrastructure
The strike began on Tuesday, with students locking the college gates and boycotting OPD services. They were protesting the poor infrastructure in the college hostel, demanding urgent repairs to the non-functional lift, a defunct water motor, and dangerous electric wiring in the hostel premises.
While most of the issues were promised to be addressed, the demand for a dedicated bus service between the college and hospital is yet to be fulfilled.
Administrative Team Steps In
The negotiation team included Dumka Sub-Divisional Officer (SDO) Samad, Circle Officer Amar Kumar, Deputy Superintendent of Police Vijay Mahto, Inspector Anuj Kumar, PJMCH Student Section In-charge Dr. N.K. Karmali, Pharmacology HoD Dr. Manoj Kumar Purti, and ENT HoD Dr. Alok Kumar. Their combined efforts helped pacify the students and bring the agitation to an end.
Resentment Against Hospital Superintendent
Despite repeated complaints, students expressed anger at Hospital Superintendent Dr. Ajay Kumar Choudhary, who allegedly ignored their concerns, claiming the issues were not under his purview.
Even during the negotiation meeting, Dr. Choudhary reportedly chose to remain in his chamber and did not participate.
Students pointed out that although the principal was on leave at the time of the strike, the superintendent failed to act, prompting the administration to recall the principal to address the matter.
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Junior Doctors Network Commends Action
The Jharkhand Junior Doctors Network (JDN) lauded the intervention of the Dumka DDC and the college principal. JDN Chairman Dr. Sushil Kumar and General Secretary Dr. Raghvendra praised the administration for taking swift action.
“DDC Abhijeet Sinha took personal interest in resolving the long-standing issues of the students. Their demands were genuine and should have been addressed by the state government much earlier,” said Dr. Sushil Kumar, who had been attempting to prevent the students from launching the strike.
