New Delhi, Oct 24 (PTI) The crisis over pending salaries of medics of civic-run facilities deepened on Saturday as senior doctors of hospitals under the North Delhi Municipal Corporation threatened to go on mass casual leave on Monday and on an indefinite strike a day after if their demands were not met.

The Municipal Corporation Doctors' Association (MCDA) on October 14 had issued a statement expressing solidarity with their agitating colleagues -- resident doctors -- of Hindu Rao Hospital and Kasturba Hospital, both under the NDMC.

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MCDA, an association of senior permanent doctors of the civic hospitals, was established in 1974, and has about 1,200 members.

It had also threatened to go on an indefinite strike from October 19, but had later decided to defer the strike in "public interest".

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In a statement issued on Saturday,  the association said it has already has given sufficient time to concerned authorities to resolve the issue and pay the salaries, "but they have not done anything to solve the problem, and instead appear to be unconcerned with the plight of doctors".

As salaries of seniors doctors have not been paid even after lapse of one week of deferring the strike, this association was forced to reconsider its earlier decision, and accordingly an emergency General Body Meeting (GBM) was held on Saturday morning at Hindu Rao Hospital, its general secretary Maruti Sinha said.

The Association "unanimously decided to protest non-payment of our salaries for the past three months," she said. 

"The first decision taken in the GBM was mass casual leave by all senior doctors of NDMC on Monday. And, total strike for indefinite period of all senior doctors from Tuesday, if salaries of all doctors, including resident doctors are not released by Monday, and if a permanent solution found, like handing over MCD health services to Central givernment, is not decided," the MCDA statement said.

The authorities are to be held "solely responsible for this unprecedented strike, as they are neither bothered about their doctors -- so called 'CORONA  Warriors' -- nor are they concerned about the patients and general," the statement said.

On Friday, five resident doctors of the North Corporation-run Hindu Rao Hospital here had begun an indefinite hunger strike over non-payment of salary for the past three months.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)