Kottayam: Kerala High Court has asked the State Government to impose the Essential Services Maintenance Act (ESMA) to prevent nurses from going on state-wide indefinite strike from Monday.

The nurses should take into consideration the lives of people, the court said when considering a plea from private hospitals against the strike.

Private hospitals had raised the salaries from Rs 8,775 to Rs 17,200 after the nurses went on a token strike recntly.