LUCKNOW, Dec 10; After imposing a strict ban on private practice, the Uttar Pradesh Government has now come hard on Reserve Duty Medical Officers, (RDMOs) a majority of whom have been ensconced in their place of posting since 1978 when the post was created.

Chief Minister Kalyan Singh, who is taking personal interest in effecting the transfers of RDMOs, has chosen not to pay heed to senior BJP leader Atal Behari Vajpayee who requested him to deal gently with them. Vajpayee gave the assurance when a delegation of the RDMOs met him recently against their marching orders.

The Government has posted these RDMOs to Primary Health Centres (PHCs) and Community Health Centres (CHSs) which desperately need the services of experienced doctors in various villages. The decision, however, has upset 200 RDMOs in the state who are now planning to go on mass casual leave besides trying to obtain stay orders on the transfers.

Most of the RDMOs favour posting in Lucknow followed by Agra, Kanpur, Allahabad and Varanasi. The maximum number of these doctors are posted in Lucknow, where the number of RDMOs is higher than the posts sanctioned. As many as 38 RDMOs are posted at Shyama Prasad Mukherjee hospital as against the sanctioned figure of 12 while in Balrampur hospital there were about 48 as against the sanctioned figure of 20.

The deep-rooted nexus between politicians-doctors and bureaucrats has allowed the RDMOs to flout all norms and remain in their places of posting.The wives of four senior IAS officers, who were being favoured thanks to the clout of their husbands, are now facing transfer orders.

The RDMOs claim that since they are specialists in their fields, they could be best used in city hospitals instead of being made to waste their time and talent in PHCs and CHCs. ``Village patients come to the city for treatment while big cities like Kanpur or Lucknow need the services of specialist government doctors,'' said a senior RDMO pleading anonymity.

The RDMOs are now awaiting the High Court judgement and are hopeful that the order will be in their favour. ``We are not against transfers but they should be effected sensibly,'' said Dr D P Mishra, secretary of the Provincial Medical Services Association.

Medicos caned

BHOPAL: The agitation launched by the medical students at Raipur took a serious turn on Tuesday with the police resorting to a lathi-charge and arrests. Following the incident, the entire teaching staff of Raipur Medical College, led by the Dean, marched to the office of the Commissioner and submitted their resignations, according to reports received here.

While 12 medical students were injured in the lathi-charge, over a hundred of them, including 42 female students, were taken into custody. The students had reportedly indulged in rowdyism and damaged two buses.

The medical college hospital at Raipur remained closed to patients yesterday.

Copyright © 1997 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.