Maharashtra services hit as resident doctors go on hunger strike over registration of homeopaths

Resident doctors in Maharashtra began an indefinite hunger strike after the government permitted homoeopaths to register with the Maharashtra Medical Council (MMC) and prescribe allopathic medicines. The Maharashtra Association of Resident Doctors (MARD) said the action disrupted outpatient department (OPD) services at medical colleges across the state and those run by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation. Protests took place at Sir JJ Hospital and Grant Medical College in Mumbai, and doctors staged demonstrations in Nagpur at Government Medical College and Research Hospital and Indira Gandhi Government Medical College and Hospital. MMC’s June 30 notification allowed homoeopaths to prescribe modern medicines after completing a six-month Certificate Course in Modern Pharmacology (CCMP). MARD demanded suspension of the BHMS-CCMP registration process pending the final court verdict, with threats to withdraw from emergency services if talks aren’t initiated, while emergency care would continue for the first 24 hours.