Kohima Apr 18 PTI Health services in government hospitals of Nagaland were affected on Monday as doctors started a three-day agitation demanding that their retirement age be increased by two years Members of the Nagaland in-Service Doctors Association NIDA have taken mass casual leaves to press their demand for increase in the superannuation age of government medical practitioners from 60 to 62 years The NIDAs demand is under consideration by the state government but no final decision could be arrived at as there are oppositions to it from certain quarters Chief Secretary J Alam told PTI The agitation has affected services in the Out Patients Department OPD in government hospitals and health centres across the state but the emergency department and ICUs were open NIDA said in a statement Senior doctors will be available round the clock to attend to any emergency during the period of agitation it said adding that Covid-19 vaccination and tests were not affected The demand is in line with the promise Prime Minister Narendra Modi made in 2016 the NIDA said The organisation said it is forced to take this step as the state government has failed to solve the issue in a year Doctors in Dimapur district hospital said they attended to emergency cases but not OPD patients The state government had earlier cautioned the agitating doctors that action would be taken against them On the first day of the agitation administrations of Kohima and Dimapur districts sought help of private practitioners for the treatment of patients official sources said The chief secretary said that the state government has a sizeable number of contractual doctors and others working in Central Schemes who would cater to the need of the patients during this period The Nagaland government has said the PMs statement was made in a political rally and no directive has been given to states The chief secretary said that the state Cabinet will have a meeting soon to deliberate on the NIDAs demandAlam said that all the districts have not been affected by the doctors agitationThe government has not sanctioned their application for casual leave he said Several organisations especially the influential Naga Students Federation are opposed to the demand of the NIDA saying increasing the retirement age of doctors would create stagnancy in employment opportunities PTI CORR NBS NN NN

Kohima Feb 27 PTI Nagaland government has sought information about any person from the state stranded in Ukraine and needs help for evacuation from the war-torn country The Home Department in an advisory issued by the Nagaland State Disaster Management Authority NSDMA said the details of any persons from Nagaland who may be stranded in Ukraine and needs to be evacuated and owing to the prevailing situation there may be provided to the helpline numbers 0370-22911222291120 or through email seocnsdmagmailcom and sdmanagalandgmailcom Official sources said that till date there is no information about any such person and therefore the advisory has been issued for necessary follow-up measures Meanwhile Nagaland Deputy Chief Minister Y Patton on Sunday conveyed his willingness to extend any possible help to anyone from Nagaland studying travelling or working in Ukraine who is left stranded in the war torn country or those who could have fled Ukraine and taken shelter in neighbouring countries Patton said he would coordinate with the officials of the Ministry of External Affairs and Embassies in foreign countries to bring back our brothers and sisters For this the Deputy Chief Minister has asked the parents and relatives of those who may be stranded there and needing assistance to send proper details of such persons through parents or through the office of the Naga Students Federation to him A local newspaper here Eastern Mirror on Sunday reported that one Machu Yirackchang from Poilwa village of Peren district Nagaland who is pursuing medical studies at I Horbachevsky Ternopil National Medical University was stranded in Ukraine He is travelling to Poland to catch the flight to India the newspaper had reported PTI NBS RG RG