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Medicos take out anti-quota march

      New Delhi: The anti-reservation protest today entered the fifth day with resident doctors of MCD hospital marching from Red Fort to Appu Ghar to press for their demands as they are dissatisfied with the government's decision to set up a three-member ministerial committee to look into the quota issue. The march will be joined by the doctors from other state-run hospitals and medical students as well. Union Minister Oscar Fernandes on Wednesday assured the protesting medical students that the government would take all efforts to resolve the problem. Students, however, remained dissatisfied. They said that they demanded the formation of a judicial commission to look into the issue of reservations. They added that we wanted a judicial committee to look into the issue. The political class had already cleared the proposal in Parliament, so what was the point in setting up a committee of three politicians to look into the issue. The government had earlier said it would push ahead with the controversial move that would see nearly half the seats in the state's top higher educational institutes, including medical colleges, reserved for lower castes and tribes.

      At present, government-funded colleges have to allocate 22.5 percent of their seats to Scheduled Castes -- formerly untouchables - and tribal students, who are eligible for admission with lower grades. The government's latest move proposes an extra 27 percent for other lower caste groups. At present, government-funded colleges have to allocate 22.5 percent of their seats to the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes and the proposed 27 percent reservation for the OBC students with the existing 22.5 percent would take the total seats under the quota category to nearly 50 percent, leaving only half of the total seats for the General category students.

Medicos' quota strike cripples hospitals

      Kanpur/ New Delhi: Hospital services in Kanpur were crippled on Thursday as resident doctors joined the medical students, who are on an indefinite strike against a controversial government move to reserve more college seats for lower castes. The government said it would push ahead with the move that will see nearly half the seats in the state's top higher educational institutes, including medical colleges, reserved for lower castes and tribes. But it tried to mollify critics by saying it could consider increasing the size of the institutions to preserve seat allocations for non-quota students competing on merit. As the hunger strike by students of five premier medical colleges in New Delhi entered the sixth day, medical students of a hospital in Kanpur shut down the Out Patient Department and emergency ward. With the students and doctors boycotting medical services, patients are bearing the brunt of the strike, many of whom cannot afford expensive treatment in private hospitals. "My child's arm is injured, we had an appointment with the doctor today but we arrived here and the OPD has been shut down because of strike," said Mohammad Tahir, a teary eyed father of an injured child who was turned back.

     In New Delhi, resident doctors of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences have decided to back students who are on a hunger strike to press for their demands. The federal government is toying with the idea of a three-year timeframe for implementation of quotas for historically underprivileged in state-fund educational institutions. Hindu society is divided by an ancient caste system that still lingers especially in rural areas despite official attempts to end discrimination. At present, government-funded colleges have to allocate 22.5 percent of their seats to the so-called scheduled castes formerly the untouchables of Hindu society and tribal students who get admission with lower grades. The government's latest move proposes an extra 27 percent quota for other low caste groups.