Nagpur: Healthcare services across Maharashtra’s government medical colleges came to a grinding halt on Monday as resident doctors intensified their statewide strike, demanding justice for the woman doctor from Phaltan Sub-District Hospital who allegedly died by suicide following workplace harassment. The agitation, led by the Maharashtra Association of Resident Doctors (MARD), is set to continue on Tuesday, with the threat of withdrawing even emergency services if their demands remain unmet.
At Nagpur’s Government Medical College and Hospital (GMCH), Outpatient Department (OPD) services were partially shut, with hundreds of resident doctors staging sit-in protests across the campus. Only emergency, casualty, and intensive care units were kept functional to prevent any risk to critical patients. “Doctors outside the MARD ambit have been deployed to handle OPDs and essential services,” informed GMCH Medical Superintendent Dr. Avinash Gawande, acknowledging the scale of disruption.
Gold Rate
04Oct 2025
The protesting doctors have accused the State Government of utter apathy and inaction, despite repeated appeals for stronger protection mechanisms for healthcare professionals. They have demanded the immediate constitution of a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe the Phaltan doctor’s death and long-term policy reforms to curb harassment in the medical system.
“We are healers, not protestors, but the government’s silence after one of our own was driven to death is unacceptable. The system failed her, and it continues to fail us,” said Dr. Dhiraj Salunke, MARD Nagpur President. Central MARD General Secretary Dr. Suyash Dhavane added that the protest was unavoidable after the government failed to issue any official communication on the SIT or doctor safety reforms.
On Tuesday, nearly 700–1,000 resident doctors from GMCH Nagpur are expected to take out a peaceful rally from the OPD complex to the Super Speciality Hospital, raising slogans for “Justice, Dignity, and Safety” for the medical fraternity.
The strike’s impact was equally severe in Yavatmal, where doctors from Vasantrao Naik Government Medical College and Hospital joined the protest, paralysing OPD services. Members of both MARD and the Association of State Medical Interns (ASMI) expressed outrage over the circumstances leading to the Phaltan doctor’s death. “We will not withdraw until justice is delivered,” asserted Dr. Shubham Deshmukh, MARD representative from Yavatmal.
College Dean Dr. Surendra Bhuyar confirmed that OPD operations had been disrupted and that a joint meeting of MARD and other medical bodies would be held later this week to determine the next phase of the agitation.
With no concrete response yet from the State Government, Maharashtra’s healthcare system is bracing for deeper disruption, as the doctors’ cry for justice grows louder each passing day.
