- Tuesday, October 22, 2024
The medics also called off their proposed shutdown in the state’s health sector from Tuesday following requests from the public
By: Shajil Kumar
JUNIOR doctors in Kolkata called off on Monday a 17-day-old hunger strike launched in protest against the rape and murder of a colleague, after a meeting with West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee.
The medics also called off their proposed shutdown in the state’s health sector from Tuesday till an indefinite period.
Debashish Halder, one of the junior medics, claimed that this was not as a result of meeting with the chief minister, but because of requests from common people and the parents of the victim. “This does not mean that we are ending the protest. In the coming days, we will conduct it in a vigorous manner,” he added.
He said during Monday’s meeting, the government gave some assurances, “but the body language of the state government was not positive.”
Halder said that on Saturday, the junior doctors would hold a mass convention on their various demands. The decision was taken following a general body meeting of the doctors.
During the hunger strike, some participants suffered severe dehydration and had to be admitted to hospital.
The parents of the deceased doctor visited the agitating doctors at the hunger strike site in Esplanade.
A police volunteer was arrested for the crime that happened at the state-run RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata.
This also sparked nationwide protests in August and September.
Government hospitals across India lack basic amenities such as restrooms for doctors, security personnel, and closed circuit television cameras (CCTV), doctors say.
India’s Supreme Court also took up the matter, but junior doctors say its efforts have not been sufficient to ensure justice.
India adopted tougher laws to protect women after the horrific gang rape and murder of a woman in its capital New Delhi in 2012, but activists say women are still prey to sexual violence. (Agencies)
