Yesterday, taking serious note of the continuing strike by junior doctors, the Government issued notices to 885 doctors for termination of their services. State Medical Education Minister Shiv Kant Ojha on Saturday told a press conference here that if the doctors who were issued notices did not reply within three days, they would stand dismissed. As many as 1,700 junior doctors in seven medical colleges in the state have been on strike since April 21, demanding the implementation of the Fifth Pay Commission recommendations. The minister said the demand of doctors was unjustified as junior doctors in Uttar Pradesh were better paid compared to their counterparts in other states.

Ojha said the remaining striking doctors would be served notice by Sunday, adding that a maximum number of 303doctors were served notice in the Kanpur Medical College. He said that after being terminated, they would be made to vacate their hostels.

The Medical Education minister said the striking doctors had no justification to resort to strike as the state government had already accepted their demand for giving them new pay scales.

Ojha said the Government had made elaborate arrangements so that health services were not affected due to the strike. He said the junior doctors of the new batch had promised not to join the strike and they had started taking charge and so far 158 new doctors had reported for duty.