Junior doctors’ strike enters seventh day without emergency services; IMA, doctors’ bodies back demands

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Junior doctors of Siddhartha Medical College staging a protest at the New Government General Hospital in Vijayawada on Saturday. | Photo Credit: G.N. RAO

Junior doctors, senior residents and interns continued their strike at government teaching hospitals across Andhra Pradesh on Sunday (August 23, 2026), while waiting for a response from the government to their demands.

It has been a week since they stopped attending to emergency services at the hospitals . The strike has also affected their academics, and they continued to take part in rallies and relay hunger strikes.

Support poured in for the doctors from the Indian Medical Association, the A.P. Government Doctors’ Association and Praja Arogya Vedika (PAV), which termed their demands genuine.

Praja Arogya Vedika president M.V. Ramanaiah and general secretary T. Kameswara Rao visited the striking doctors at the Siddhartha Medical College, Vijayawada, on Saturday and expressed solidarity with them.

Stating that the demands raised by the doctors deserved serious consideration, the PAV members expressed concern that the continuation of the strike was affecting patient care in government teaching hospitals.

Junior doctors of the Andhra Medical College hold a rangoli protest in front of the Superintendent's office at the King George Hospital in Visakhapatnam on Sunday, the 14th day of their strike. They are seeking a stipend revision. Video: @Vudimudiraju pic.twitter.com/7gEblZVgMb

Considering the heavy patient load in these hospitals, the PAV asked the State government to invite a delegation of the striking doctors for a meaningful dialogue towards an amicable resolution.

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