West Bengal junior doctors continue sit-in, wait for state to fulfill their demands

Kolkata: Despite calling off their 'total cease work' on Friday evening, agitating junior doctors continued their sit-in in central Kolkata throughout the night alleging that police lathi-charged a few of them during a rally to press for justice for the deceased woman doctor of RG Kar Medical College and Hospital.

The junior doctors called off their 'total cease work' at state-run medical colleges and hospitals around 8:30 pm on Friday, but threatened to launch a hunger strike till death if their demands were not met by the West Bengal government within 24 hours.

"When you are fighting for a significant cause, you cannot expect things to be easy. We anticipated better treatment from the state government. The lathi charge and the verbal abuse from police were both unnecessary, and we demand an apology," Debasish Halder, a representative of the protesting junior medics, told PTI. "We will not vacate this place until that is provided," he added.

Medics from RG Kar Medical College, alongside their peers from various hospitals, joined the protest.

"It's time for the state to respond and show that they are genuinely eager to resolve this issue. The clock is ticking for them," added Aniket Mahato, another junior medic.

The ongoing demonstration caused significant disruptions to traffic, with a heavy police presence surrounding the protest site at Dorina Crossing.

The protesters emphasised that securing justice for the deceased woman medic remains their foremost priority.

Among their nine demands, they are calling for the immediate removal of state Health Secretary N S Nigam, as well as accountability for the alleged administrative incompetence and corruption within the health department.

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

Furthermore, they are advocating for increased police protection in hospitals, the recruitment of permanent female police personnel, and the swift filling of vacant positions for doctors, nurses, and other healthcare workers.

"Elections for student councils must be conducted immediately in every medical college. All colleges must recognise the Resident Doctors' Association (RDA), and elected representation of students and junior doctors must be ensured in all committees managing colleges and hospitals," Halder asserted.

The junior doctors are also demanding an immediate inquiry into alleged corruption and lawlessness within the West Bengal Medical Council (WBMC) and the West Bengal Health Recruitment Board (WBHRB).

On Thursday night, the junior doctors convened a governing body meeting of the Junior Doctors' Forum after their senior counterparts requested them to end their "total cease work" and resume regular duties.

The junior doctors had resumed their "cease work" on October 1 following an incident involving an attack on medics by a patient's family at the College of Medicine & Sagore Dutta Hospital last week.

Previously, they had engaged in a 42-day complete "cease work" following the rape-murder of a fellow medic at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital on August 9. They ultimately ended their strike on September 21 after discussions with state officials, resuming essential medical services.