Monday, May 15 2006 15:27 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

New Delhi: The Union Health Ministry is planning action against striking resident doctors of the Central Government-run hospitals as they continued their indefinite agitation against the reservation for OBCs in educational institutes.

The situation in view of the strike was reviewed at a high-level meeting which was attended by officials from the Delhi Government, police, Health Ministry, Home Ministry and other related departments, sources said.

Health Ministry officials said government was planning action against resident doctors if they continued to abstain from work.

"Definitely action will be taken against them. We plan to serve them memos," they said.

Officials feared there were attempts to involve senior doctors also in the strke. The medical bandh today (May 15, 2006) has been called by the Indian Medical Association.

Hunger strike by medical students also continued today.

Resident doctors of various hospitals continued to strike work saying the agitation would continue unless the government rolls back the controversial proposal to extend 27 per cent reservation for other backward classes (OBSc) in educational institutes.

"We have not reported for our duties but we are running parallel OPDs," Subrato Mandal, a resident doctor from All India Institute of Medical Sciences, said.

Several private hospitals such as Fortis and GM Modi have also joined in the bandh called by IMA.

"G M Modi Hospital is supporting the strike. OPDs are not functioning but emergency and ICUs are functioning," its officials said.