Senior government doctors, who were supposed to go on a one-day token strike on Monday, called off their agitation after state
government set up a committee to look into the pay hike demands put forward by Tamil Nadu Government Doctors' Association. (TNGDA). Meanwhile, house surgeons and postgraduate medical students of government colleges continued their strike.

Senior doctors had given a strike call after talks with state government failed on Sunday morning.

However, the government panicked that strike by doctors will paralyse the government hospitals where services have already been hit by the ongoing students' strike.

Hence, health department held talks with representatives of TNGDA on Monday evening and promised them that a committee headed by special secretary law department Praveen Kumar will be constituted.

"Director of medical education, director of public health and director of medical service and two representatives of TNGDA will be members of the committee which will submit its report recommending the government about the demands of the doctors," said health minister M R K Paneerselvam.

However, "the government would clear all backlog in promotions of doctors," he added.

Though the government managed to thwart the doctors' attempt to go on strike, continuing strike by students are expected to further affect the hospitals.

With the working force of the government hospitals striking work, the services at most hospitals were severely hit. While some hospitals cancelled elective surgeries, others grappled with long queues of patients at the out-patient units.

An irked minister even ordered the directorate of medical education to bar all striking house surgeons from appearing for the postgraduate entrance in 2010. "We will also mention their participation in the strike in their conduct certificates," director of medical education Dr S Vinayagam said.