Bhubaneswar: Over 6,000 government doctors in Odisha under the banner of the Odisha Medical Services Association (OMSA) boycotted OPD services for two hours on Wednesday, as part of an ongoing protest seeking fulfillment of their 10-point charter of demands.

Key Demands of OMSA Doctors

The doctors’ demands include:

• Filling vacant posts: The state has only 6,000 doctors against a sanctioned strength of 15,776, leaving over 50% of positions unfilled, putting immense pressure on existing staff.
• Pay parity with central government employees.
• Proportional restructuring of cadres across all grades.
• Additional financial incentives for super-specialists and performance-based rewards.

OMSA president Kishore Mishra described the two-hour OPD boycott (from 9 am to 11 am) as a symbolic protest, emphasizing that emergency services, surgeries, and inpatient care continued uninterrupted.

Government Response

• The Odisha government had declared the doctors’ agitation illegal under the Odisha Essential Services Maintenance Act (ESMA), which bans strikes affecting essential services for six months.
• Health and Family Welfare Minister Mukesh Mahaling appealed to doctors to call off the strike, while a high-level committee has been formed to review their 10-point charter of demands.

Background and Impact

• The OPD boycott began as a one-hour protest on December 26, 2025, and was extended to two hours starting January 5, 2026.
• The ongoing strike has impacted healthcare delivery, particularly in rural and remote areas.
• OMSA criticized the ESMA invocation as “oppression and bureaucratic interference”, urging Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi to intervene and resolve the doctors’ concerns.

The protest highlights the persistent strain on Odisha’s healthcare system due to staff shortages and the call for equitable pay and incentives, while the government balances maintaining essential services.