New Delhi: Resident doctors, who had been protesting for over two weeks across the country with a demand for expediting the NEET-PG counselling, called off their strike on Friday, December 31, morning. They resumed work from Friday noon.The Federation of Resident Doctors’ Association (FORDA), the umbrella body of protesting doctors, said that their decision to call off strike came after they had been assured of their demands by the Union government.On December 30, a series of meetings took place between FORDA representatives and multiple Delhi Police officials, including joint commissioner of police, where medics were assured that an FIR (first information report) filed against them would be taken back.“The strike has been called off. We will rejoin work at 12 pm [on Friday]. We had a meeting with the joint commissioner of police (CP) last night [Thursday] where he gave instructions to cancel the FIR. As for the NEET-PG, we have been assured that the court clearance will come during the January 6 hearing [at the Supreme Court],” the Indian Express quoted Dr. Manish Kumar, president, FORDA.FORDA in a statement said that they had been assured that police complaints lodged against resident doctors “will be taken care of as per the legal procedures”. During the protests, there was a face-off between medics and police personnel in the streets in Delhi.Also read: Why Young, Overworked Doctors Are Protesting Outside the Union Home Ministry“A virtual meeting of FORDA members with all RDAs’ representatives was convened late in the evening [on Thursday] whereby all the proceedings were conveyed, all points of concern were discussed in details. It was unanimously decided to call off the agitation on December 31, 2021, at 12 pm, considering various factors, including patient care,” the statement said.It was also decided that a national meeting with all representatives of resident doctor associations (RDAs) will be convened by FORDA on January 6, it added.The doctors took to the streets in November-end after the previous hearing of the Supreme Court – when the Union government had sought four weeks to review EWS quota in the All India Quota for NEET PG 2021 counselling – delayed the whole process. They withdrew from outpatient clinics, then from routine services, such as patient care in the wards, and planned surgeries. Even emergency services were suspended.“We are not able to do the counselling because the matter is sub judice before the Supreme Court. The government of India will submit a reply to the apex court before the scheduled date of hearing on January 6,” Mandaviya was quoted as saying in a PTI report.However, the protests were halted for a week after Union health minister Mansukh Mandaviya assured to look into their demands. However, the strike resumed on December 17, once again affecting all medical services, including emergency services, across all big medical college-associated hospitals in the country.According to doctors, the delay in NEET-PG counselling left college hospitals short-staffed with the outgoing batch of third-year PG students already having left but the incoming batch yet to join work. As a result, resident doctors ended up working 100 to 120 hours a week. On the other hand, 45,000 NEET-PG aspirants across the country are waiting for long to join work.The next hearing of the proceedings is scheduled for January 6, 2022.(With PTI inputs)