Kerala nurses' strike: High suicide drama on hospital building

The nurses of the Mar Baselios Medical Mission Hospital here took their agitation to incredible heights of melodrama when three of them positioned themselves on the fifth storey of the hospital building on Wednesday and threatened to jump down and commit suicide if their demands were not met. The local people supported by political parties turned out in strength and the result has been violence, police action including lathicharge, and hartal in the municipality.

Holding bottles of high-dose poison in their hands for consumption if anyone approached them, the harried and fasting nurses, Priya, Vidyarani and Anu VS, continued their nail-biting posture till Thursday  night. However, later they ended their agitation following talks on their  demands which include implementation of minimum wages as prescribed by the government and regularisation of services of those  who have completed one year after  internship. The agitation has been going on  for the last 114 days.

The hartal on Thursday was complete in town limits and was marred by violence. The wind screen of a bus was broken while several motor bikes parked on the roadside were destroyed. The police lathicharged the crowds which tried to forcibly enter the hospital premises. Buses were diverted from the Kothamangalam town. Independence Day celebrations were cancelled.

It was at 7.30 am on Wednesday that the three nurses of INA made their dramatic appearance on the top storey of the hospital building.