Archive · 6 Aug 2026
Maharashtra Resident Doctors' Strike Halts OPDs in Mumbai Hospitals
Doctors in training, called resident doctors, work in hospitals to help sick people.
Many of them in the state of Maharashtra decided to stop working for a while.
They are upset because the government wants to allow some other doctors, called BHMS doctors, to be registered by the Maharashtra Medical Council.
These BHMS doctors finished a special course in modern pharmacology.
The resident doctors do not agree with this decision.
So they stopped seeing patients in outpatient departments, except in emergencies.
This meant fewer patients could get routine care in Mumbai's big government hospitals.
Some people waited for hours, and others went home without seeing a doctor.
But hospitals made sure emergency services, ICUs and surgeries kept running.
The government says it is only following court directions and has asked the doctors to return to work.
Nearly 7,000 resident doctors across Maharashtra began an indefinite strike against the state government's conditional registration of CCMP-qualified BHMS practitioners with the Maharashtra Medical Council (MMC).
OPD attendance fell by nearly 50% at several Mumbai government hospitals, including Sion, JJ, Nair, KEM and Cooper.
Emergency services, ICUs and surgeries continued, with senior faculty and heads of departments managing patient care.
Sion Hospital recorded only 1,197 OPD patients against its usual daily average of 2,713, and admissions dropped from an average of 102 to just 12.
Central MARD President Dr Atharva Shinde said talks with authorities were positive, while the state government appealed to doctors to withdraw the agitation.
- Who
- Nearly 7,000 resident doctors across Maharashtra, organized under the banner of Central MARD.
- What
- An indefinite strike boycotting OPDs and non-emergency services, cutting OPD attendance by nearly 50% at several Mumbai government hospitals.
- When
- Wednesday, with the strike continuing indefinitely.
- Where
- Government hospitals across Maharashtra, including Sion, JJ, Nair, KEM and Cooper hospitals in Mumbai.
- Why
- In protest against the state government's decision to conditionally register CCMP-qualified BHMS practitioners with the Maharashtra Medical Council (MMC).
Resident Doctors' Stance
State Government's Stance
Registration of CCMP-qualified BHMS practitioners
Resident Doctors' Stance
Resident doctors went on an indefinite strike, boycotting OPDs and non-emergency services, in protest against the state government's decision to conditionally register CCMP-qualified BHMS practitioners with the Maharashtra Medical Council.
State Government's Stance
The state government appealed to doctors to withdraw the agitation, clarifying that the conditional registration is being undertaken only in compliance with pending court directions and the Advocate General's opinion, and not as a policy decision.
- Striking doctors
- Nearly 7,000 resident doctors across Maharashtra
- Organizing body
- Central MARD
- Protest target
- Conditional registration of CCMP-qualified BHMS practitioners with the Maharashtra Medical Council
- OPD impact
- Attendance fell by nearly 50% at several Mumbai hospitals
- Sion Hospital OPD
- 1,197 patients vs. usual daily average of 2,713
- Sion Hospital admissions
- 12 vs. average of 102
- Cooper Hospital staffing
- Only 5 of 175 resident doctors on duty; 118 of 124 faculty present