Bengal Junior doctors continue protest amid Durga Puja festivities

At 9.30 am, the fast by the nine junior doctors of various medical colleges entered its 108th hour

Kolkata: The junior doctors, agitating over the rape and murder of their colleague at the RG Kar hospital, continued their fast unto death for the fifth day on Thursday amid the Durga Puja festivities across West Bengal.

At 9.30 am, the fast by the nine junior doctors of various medical colleges entered its 108th hour. The junior doctors began the fast unto death on Saturday evening at the Dorina Crossing in Dharmatala in the heart of Kolkata after ending the total cease work that had crippled healthcare services.

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Meanwhile, the State government convened a meeting on Wednesday evening with the protestors but failed to break the deadlock. Following the meeting, which was chaired by Chief Secretary Manoj Pant, the protesting doctors alleged that they received nothing concrete from the state except “verbal assurances”.

“Our friends have been protesting without food for over four days, and the government says it will consider our demands only in the third week of October, after the pujas. We never expected such insensitivity,” said Debasish Halder of the West Bengal Junior Doctors’ Front.

At the protest site, the doctors also criticised the police for apprehending their colleagues who were demonstrating and distributing leaflets outside some Durga Puja pandals in the city on Wednesday. The protesting doctors emphasised that securing justice for the deceased woman medic remains their foremost priority.

They also called for the immediate removal of Health Secretary NS Nigam, alleging administrative incompetence and inaction against corruption in the department.

Other demands include the establishment of a centralised referral system for all hospitals and medical colleges in the state, the implementation of a bed vacancy monitoring system, and the formation of task forces to ensure essential provisions for CCTV, on-call rooms, and washrooms at their workplaces.

They are also demanding increased police protection in hospitals, recruitment of permanent women police personnel, and swift filling of vacant positions for doctors, nurses, and other healthcare workers. The junior doctors went on to cease work following the rape-murder of a fellow medic at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital on August 9.

They ended their stir after 42 days on September 21 following assurances from the State government to look into their demands.