India, Aug. 19 -- With more than 42,000 contractual staff under the National Health Mission (NHM) to go on an indefinite strike from August 19 over long pending demands, healthcare services across Maharashtra are likely to be severely disrupted.

The strike has been called by a coalition of over 17 NHM staff organisations, representing doctors, nurses, pharmacists, lab technicians and other health workers serving in public healthcare facilities. In Pune alone, around 2,700 NHM staff from Pune rural, Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) and Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC) will join the protest at the Pune Zilla Parishad (ZP) office.

Among the staff's demands are immediate implementation of the government resolution (GR) issued o...