Archive · 6 Aug 2026
Maharashtra government urges resident doctors to end strike
Some doctors were training in hospitals in the Indian state of Maharashtra.
They went on strike to show they were unhappy.
The doctors are worried because the government is putting some homoeopathic doctors on a special registration list.
The trainee doctors feel this could confuse different systems of medicine.
The government says the list is only there because a court asked for it.
It promises that homoeopathic doctors will not get the same rights as MBBS doctors.
Because of the strike, many routine hospital services have stopped.
But emergency help, like ICUs, labour rooms and emergency surgery, still works.
The government has asked the doctors to end the strike peacefully.
The doctors say they will keep protesting until the government gives them a clear answer.
The Maharashtra Medical Education and Drugs Department appealed to the Maharashtra Association of Resident Doctors to call off their strike, which began on Wednesday.
The strike was triggered by concerns over the conditional registration of CCMP-qualified BHMS homoeopathic practitioners with the Maharashtra Medical Council.
The government said the registration is held in a separate register only to comply with judicial orders and assured that no parity with MBBS graduates will be extended to CCMP candidates.
From August 6, 2026, resident doctors withdrew routine OPD, IPD, elective surgeries and academic services, while emergency and life-saving services continue.
Central MARD intensified the agitation from midnight after saying repeated representations and dialogue failed to secure a concrete decision from the government.
- Who
- Maharashtra Association of Resident Doctors (MARD), led by President Atharva Shinde, and the Maharashtra Medical Education and Drugs Department (MEDD), led by Secretary Dheeraj Kumar.
- What
- A statewide strike by resident doctors over the conditional registration of CCMP-qualified homoeopathic practitioners with the Maharashtra Medical Council, withdrawing routine hospital services while continuing emergency care.
- When
- The strike began on Wednesday, August 5, 2026, and was intensified from midnight, August 6, 2026.
- Where
- Government Medical Colleges and Hospitals across Maharashtra, India.
- Why
- Resident doctors oppose the conditional registration of CCMP-qualified homoeopathic practitioners and say repeated representations, notices and dialogue have not produced a concrete decision from the government.
Resident Doctors (MARD)
Maharashtra Government
Registration of homoeopathic doctors
Resident Doctors (MARD)
Conditional registration of CCMP-qualified BHMS practitioners with the Maharashtra Medical Council threatens the standards of modern medicine and should be opposed.
Maharashtra Government
The registration is held in a separate register solely to comply with judicial orders, and there will be no dilution or mixing of different systems of medicine.
Strike escalation
Resident Doctors (MARD)
Escalating the agitation is justified because repeated representations, prior notices and constructive dialogue have failed to secure a meaningful response from the government.
Maharashtra Government
The strike severely hampers critical healthcare services and conflicts with MARD's solemn undertaking before the High Court in PIL 77/2025 not to jeopardise patient care.
Impact on patient care
Resident Doctors (MARD)
Emergency and life-saving services will continue uninterrupted, and no patient requiring immediate life-saving intervention will be denied care.
Maharashtra Government
The withdrawal of routine clinical, academic and non-life-saving services disrupts tertiary medical college care where timely specialised treatment is crucial.
- Striking body
- Maharashtra Association of Resident Doctors (MARD)
- Government department
- Maharashtra Medical Education and Drugs Department (MEDD)
- Strike started
- Wednesday, August 5, 2026
- Agitation escalated
- Midnight, August 6, 2026
- Trigger
- Conditional registration of CCMP-qualified BHMS practitioners with the Maharashtra Medical Council (MMC)
- Key assurance
- No parity, equity or MBBS-related benefits for CCMP-qualified candidates
- Related litigation
- PIL 77/2025 before the High Court
- Services continuing
- Casualty, Trauma care, ICUs, Labour Rooms, emergency surgeries, E-Lab and Blood Bank