West Bengal: Junior medics continue total cease work

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Despite withdrawing their 'total cease work', angry junior doctors in West Bengal maintained their sit-in on Saturday in central Kolkata, they claim that during a protest to demand justice for the murdered woman medic of RG Kar Medical College and Hospital, several of them were baton-charged by the police, PTI reported.

Withstanding the rain, they held their protest throughout the night in the Esplanade area.

According to PTI, some were witnessed standing with umbrellas in one hand, while the others managed to take shelter under a temporary plastic shade at the Dorina crossing in the area, protesting the police's alleged use of a baton during their Friday demonstration from the SSKM hospital in the city's southern section to Esplanade.

The junior doctors dropped their 'total cease work' at state-run medical colleges and hospitals around 8:30 pm on Friday but threatened to start a hunger strike till death if the West Bengal government didn't meet their demands within 24 hours.

They also placed a big clock at the protest site in order to keep track of time.

"When you are fighting for a significant cause, you cannot expect things to be easy. We anticipated better treatment from the state government. The baton charge and the verbal abuse from the 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 Colleges along with their peers from various hospitals also tagged along in the protest, PTI reported.

"It's time for the state government 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 protest has caused significant traffic disruptions, with a police team surrounding the protest site at the Dorina Crossing.

As per PTI, the protesters highlighted that securing justice for the deceased female medic remains their foremost priority.

Among their nine demands, they have asked for the immediate removal of the State Health Secretary N S Nigam, as well as responsibility for the alleged administrative incompetence and corruption within the Department of Health, PTI reported.

Their other demands include the establishment of a centralised referral system for every hospital and medical college in West Bengal, the creation of task forces and the installation of a bed vacancy monitoring system to guarantee that their places of employment have the necessary facilities for CCTV, on-call rooms, and restrooms.

Moreover, they are advocating increased police protection in hospitals, the hiring of permanent woman 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 in the state. 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 to PTI.

A prompt investigation into allegations of corruption and lawlessness inside the West Bengal Medical Council (WBMC) and the West Bengal Health Recruitment Board (WBHRB) is another demand made by the junior doctors.

According to PTI, on Thursday night, they held a governing body meeting of the Junior Doctors' Forum after their senior colleagues asked them to terminate their "total cease work" and resume regular responsibilities.

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

Earlier, the junior doctors had participated in a 42-day complete "cease work" following the rape-murder of a woman medic at the RG Kar Medical College and Hospital on August 9.

They in the end halted the strike on September 21 after a dialogue with West Bengal's state officials and resumed essential medical services, PTI reported.

(With inputs from PTI)