Those who cannot afford treatment outside have been left in the lurch,' a senior doctor said.

A leader of the junior doctors' association said their demand for a hike in stipend has been pending for some years.

'We get stipend of Rs.13,000 in the first year, Rs.14,000 in second and Rs.15,000 in the third year of post-graduation. We are demanding that this amount be increased to Rs.22,500 at par with some neighbouring states,' the doctor said.

Hundreds of poor patients, who came for treatment from across the state, are the greatest victims of the strike.

Arvind Prasad, a relative of a patient, said: 'We are the main victims of the strike because there is no doctor to attend to the patients.'