Jodhpur:
It's near impossible to get any sort of medical care in Jodhpur - a massive strike by the city's doctors at all six government hospitals is now in its third day.
Thirty people have died since Saturday, when the strike began. An angry and emotional city blames the strike for these deaths. "These deaths happen in normal course too. Now as the strike is on, people feel the figures are increasing. We've appealed to the doctors that it's their moral responsibility towards the patients (to treat them). For the past two days, the Chief Minister is monitoring this personally," says Rajasthan's Health Minister, A A Ahmed.
On Tuesday morning, the crisis scaled up after senior doctors who had gone back to work did a u-turn and rejoined the strike.
"We have started sending the doctors from our department to medical colleges and hospitals. In all six hospitals, we arranged for proper functioning of the emergency and critical units," says Ahmed.
The strike has been provoked by a fight that broke out on Saturday night between doctors and a patient's family at the MDM Hospital. The doctors were attacked, they retaliated, and the police was called in. The doctors claim that seven of them were injured in the lathi-charge by the police. They want the government to take action against the policemen responsible.
Mahesh Joshi relives the events of the weekend every few hours, always with a different ending than the one his family witnessed.
His wife, Asha, was rushed to a government hospital in Jodhpur on Sunday evening when she complained that she was finding it tough to breathe. Mahesh says he was referred to the cardiac care unit. Doctors told him that Asha needed a respirator. But a strike by doctors and nurses meant that the advice was the only medical attention given to her. She died 10 hours later.
"They have killed my wife. Who will look after my young children?" asks Joshi flatly.
Roopmati stands next to her daughter, who delivered a baby two days ago. "I have to have my stitches removed but there is nobody here to attend to us," she complains.
The Epidemic Act has been in force in Rajasthan since late last year because of an outbreak of swine flu. Currently, more than 400 patients with swine flu have been counted across the state. The Act, which effectively declares a state of medical emergency, prevents doctors from taking time off. It provides for harsh action against those who defy it. Its massive violation has so far seen no repercussions. And that is what many patients are most angry about.