TNI Bureau: The Odisha Government has invoked the Essential Services Maintenance Act (ESMA) and imposed a six-month ban on strikes by doctors and other healthcare personnel across the state to ensure uninterrupted medical services in the public interest.

In an order issued by the Home (Special Section) Department, the state government prohibited strikes in the form of cessation of work by doctors, nursing officers, pharmacy officers, paramedics, technicians, and Class III and Class IV employees, including contractual staff, engaged in medical services.

The ban applies to all government-run hospitals and dispensaries, including District Headquarters Hospitals, Sub-Divisional Hospitals, Area Hospitals, Community Health Centres (CHCs), Primary Health Centres (PHCs), and municipal hospitals. It also covers government medical colleges and hospitals, as well as autonomous health institutions receiving state grants-in-aid, such as the Acharya Harihar Regional Cancer Centre (AHRCC), Regional Spinal Injury Centre, jail hospitals and police hospitals.