DW BUREAU The faculty of Government Medical and Dental College in Patiala has out rightly rejected the decision taken by Ministerial Committee of the Punjab government which has announced linking of the NPA (non practice allowance) with basic pay for the state government doctors but has not restored the same to 25 percent as demanded by various associations of the doctors. Further, Finance Minister Manpreet Badal has not clarified which of the allowances will be given on NPA. The PSMDTA also condemned the government for not inviting the representative of the Medical and Dental Teachers Association to the meeting of the ministers' sub-committee held yesterday at Chandigarh. According to Dr DS Bhullar, state General Secretary of Punjab State Medical and Dental Teachers Association (PSMDTA), the government doctors were availing dearness and house rent allowances on NPA before 2016, the year of the implementation of Sixth Punjab Pay Commission report and it should be continued as such otherwise there will be no benefit of linking NPA with basic pay. Also, the state government has also not clarified its decision on academic and conveyance allowances to be given to the doctors. The protest of the medical dental doctors in the state will continue and a decision for further course of action will be taken in the state body meeting of PSMDTA on Saturday at Ludhiana. Meanwhile, more than 20 doctors from the surgery department along with action committee members and office bearers of PSMDTA sat on protest for three hours today in medical college with shutdown of OPDs and operation theatre services. The dental faculty also suspended all types of services and teaching for three hours in Government Dental College in Patiala. Later on MBBS students also joined the protest in support of the medical teachers which was addressed by acting state president Dr Vijay Bodal and General Secretary of Patiala unit Dr Darshanjit Singh Walia. (editor@dailyworld.in)