New Delhi (PTI): Around 500 resident doctors of the Guru Teg Bahadur hospital, who were on strike for the last five days, resumed duties on Saturday, a day after the government threatened to invoke ESMA on them.

Services were paralysed at the hospital since Monday morning following an incident on Sunday night, when relatives of a patient who died at the hospital damaged property and tried to assault the doctors on duty.

"The strike was called off and all doctors resumed services this afternoon as they have been assured of action by the administration," Medical Superintendent P C Dikshit said.

The administration will take steps to beef up security for the doctors so as to prevent a similar condition arising in future, he said.

A six-month-old girl, who was brought to the hospital in critical condition after being bit by a poisonous reptile, died on Tuesday, while some dengue patients were also denied admission due the strike.

The Delhi government had announced on Friday that it will invoke the Essential Services Maintenance Act (ESMA) on the striking doctors from Saturday, with Delhi Health Minister asking the hospital to lodge FIRs against those who continue to abstain from work.

The government welcomed the development and said the resumption of services at the hospital will end the miseries of the patients, who were suffering for the last five days.

"Innocent patients should not suffer as a result of an agitation. The calling off of the strike is a welcome step and we will take necessary steps to allay the doctors' concerns," a Health Ministry official said.