COIMBATORE,NOV 30 (Agencies): A group of medicos, protesting the Centre's proposal to extend the five-and-a-half MBBS course by a year, today tonsured their head at a famous Lord Shiva temple on the city outskirts.
The medicos are on relay fast here.
Six male students, after having bath at the tank in Pattreswarar Temple, tonsured their head and sought blessings for Union Health Minister Dr Anbumani Ramadoss, to make him withdraw the proposed move to extend the course.
Meanwhile, some female students carried out a 'Adi Pradakshinam,' (walking step to step) ritual around the temple for the same reason, police said.
As sought by the police, the students, who were sitting on fast near the City Bus stand, shifted the venue to the Medical College Campus this morning.
However, the students are demanding written assurance from Ramadoss, who had assured them of an amicable solution at a meeting here about two months back.
The Dr Sambasiva Rao Committee, formed to take the opinions of stakeholders in medical education, which came to Chennai on Wednesday, admitted that "they had not seen such opposition to the scheme elsewhere in the country," However, the students said they "had no hope in the committee, formed by the same Minister who had brought the proposal." Students from 14 Government medical colleges in the state, including the three prominent ones in Chennai, the Stanley Medical College, Madras Medical College, and the Kilpauk Medical College, have been on indefinite strike since November 15.They had also staged relay fast which they later called off.
Chennai,Nov30 (Agencies): With their stir against the Centre's proposal to make one year rural service mandatory for MBBS degree largely confined to Tamil Nadu, medicos here planned to form an All India organisation to rope in students from other parts of the country.
"Six students would be leaving for Mumbai soon where they would meet students from states such as Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Orissa and Delhi, which have also started witnessing agitations against the proposal," T Janakiraman, spokesperson, Federation of Tamil Nadu Medical Students and House Surgeons, told PTI here today.
Janakiraman refuted the allegation by Union Health Minister Dr Anbumani Ramadoss that the medicos protest was confined only to Tamil Nadu, though it is an all India issue.
He said medicos from other states too were agitating against the proposal.
The meeting in Mumbai will decide formation of the All India Medical Federation and the future course of action if the Centre did not heed their demands, he said.
"The students in these states are waiting for their exams to get over and we believe they would join us in our protests next week," Janakiraman added.
Medicos have been on the warpath against the proposal, fearing that extension of the five-and-a-half year MBBS course by a year would affect their career prospects.
The indefinite stir, backed by all political parties except Ramadoss's PMK, had gained momentum all over the state.
Medicos called off their indefinite fast on Nov 23 after State Chief Minister M Karunanidhi assured them that he would take up their cause with the Centre.