Kolkata. The indefinite hunger strike by junior doctors in West Bengal for various demands entered the 10th day on Monday. There is no solution to this deadlock in sight after the meeting between doctors and the state government remained inconclusive.
At the same time, after the health of two more doctors involved in the ‘fast unto death’ deteriorated, R.G. The ongoing deadlock over the rape and murder of a female doctor in the hospital has further increased. Has gone. The important meeting between representatives of 12 medical associations and Chief Secretary Manoj Pant at Swasthya Bhawan ended without any solution. The doctors were hoping that the state government would set a clear timeline to fulfill their demands, but according to sources, the administration was reluctant to commit to any timeline.
The doctors’ hunger strike started on October 5. Earlier on August 9, the state government-run R.G. After the rape and murder of a postgraduate trainee doctor at Kar Medical College and Hospital, junior doctors had observed ‘work strike’ for about 50 days in two phases. As of Monday, seven junior doctors are on hunger strike, some of whom are in need of immediate treatment. Officials said that Pulastha Acharya of NRS Medical College and Hospital was admitted to the hospital on Sunday night after severe stomach pain.
A senior doctor of NRS Medical College and Hospital told PTI, “Pulastha is admitted in the Critical Care Unit (CCU) and his condition has deteriorated. “We have constituted a medical board to treat him.” Tanya Panja, another junior doctor at Kolkata Medical College, also fell ill in the afternoon. A protesting doctor said, “Her (Tanya’s) condition is not good and she is currently under observation at the protest site. “We have not yet decided whether he needs to be admitted to hospital.”
Panja is one of the junior doctors whose health has deteriorated since the fast began, three others have already been admitted to hospitals in Kolkata and Siliguri. Earlier, three junior doctors who were fasting in Kolkata and Siliguri city have been admitted to the hospital after their condition deteriorated.
The total number of doctors currently fasting is seven, which also includes a junior doctor from the ENT department of North Bengal Medical College who joined the strike this afternoon. An important meeting of representatives of 12 associations of doctors with Chief Secretary Manoj Pant on Monday ended without any result as the doctors expected a clear timeline to fulfill their demands, but the government reportedly did not make any progress. Was reluctant to commit to a deadline.
West Bengal Doctors Forum President Dr Kaushik Chaki told PTI, “The meeting remained inconclusive. We requested the state government to send an officer to talk to the young doctors on hunger strike and the highest ranking officer should be given preference. However, the Chief Secretary indicated that he could not give any timeline.” After the meeting, Pant said, “We had a detailed discussion which lasted for about two and a half hours. Many concerns were expressed and we took cognizance of them. We discussed in detail regarding the demands of junior doctors. “Seven out of 10 demands have been fulfilled.”
“For the remaining three demands, they were requesting specific timelines,” he said. These are administrative decisions that the state needs to consider, so we cannot give any timeline at this time. We assured them that we have taken note of their issues and complaints. “We urged them to persuade the doctors to call off their hunger strike as we are concerned about their health.” When asked about the demand for removal of Health Secretary N S Nigam, Pant said that it is for the state government to decide what action should be taken.
Pant invited the ‘Joint Platform of Doctors’ (JPD) to the state health department headquarters for further discussions and urged them to cancel the ‘Drohar Carnival’ protest proposed on October 15. The JPD had announced the demonstration in solidarity with junior doctors, but the government expressed concern that the demonstration would coincide with the state’s annual ‘Durga Puja carnival’. Junior doctor RG Kar is demanding justice for the deceased doctor in the hospital rape and murder case, immediate removal of Health Secretary Nigam, safety at workplace and other measures.
Their other demands include setting up of a centralized referral system for all hospitals and medical colleges in the state, implementation of bed vacancy monitoring system and installation of CCTV cameras at workplaces, setting up of a task force to ensure necessary provisions for ‘on-call rooms’ etc. Demand for formation is included. Demanding a prompt and transparent investigation by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) into the alleged rape-murder case of a female doctor, the agitating junior doctors took out a rally till Raj Bhavan on Monday evening and submitted a memorandum to the Governor’s office.
Senior Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP Kalyan Banerjee on Monday criticized the protesting doctors, saying they lack the resolve to go on a real fast. He accused the doctors of turning their fast unto death into a “hospitalization fast”. He said the main goal of the protesters is to attract media attention and lead to hospitalization within a day or two of starting the protest.
He asked, “What kind of fast is this?” It starts from the protest site and ends after hospitalization. We know that hunger strike is a fast unto death, not a fast for hospitalization. “What these doctors are doing is a hunger strike to get admitted to the hospital.” Responding to Kalyan Banerjee’s comment, protesting doctor Debashish Haldar said, “It seems that he wants the doctors sitting on hunger strike to die while protesting.”
Meanwhile, senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader and Leader of Opposition in the West Bengal Assembly, Subhendu Adhikari, asked people to boycott the ‘Durga Puja Carnival’ organized by the Trinamool Congress government in protest and to express solidarity with the junior doctors’ movement. Have requested. The Left Front on Monday demanded that Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee “call the agitating junior doctors for an immediate meeting.” Left Front president Biman Bose, in an open letter to Mamata Banerjee, requested her to adopt a humanitarian approach in the matter as the doctors’ indefinite hunger strike has entered the 10th day.