The top court on Monday asked the junior doctors to return to work. It was flagged in the SC hearing that the state government has not fulfilled its promises, including that of the installation of CCTV cameras in all required areas.
Ahead of the Supreme Court hearing, Kolkata Police Commissioner Manoj Verma inspected the security arrangements at the RG Kar Medical College and Hospital where the rape-and-murder of a junior doctor took place and interacted with the on-duty personnel. The hospital’s security has been entrusted to the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF). The commissioner.
The heightened security measure comes in the wake of allegations of attacks on doctors and nurses at Sagore Dutta Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata.
Reacting to the SC proceedings, Aniket Mahato, a key figure in the junior doctors’ agitation, expressed optimism about resuming services fully and
emphasised the need for the state government to properly address the unresolved issues related to security.
“After listening to what the Supreme Court said, we have no problem with starting services fully. But the state government has not fulfilled the promises it made to us. CCTV cameras have been installed in a few places. The rest is not done. There are still several question marks on safety. Therefore, the decision on resuming services fully will be decided after our general body meeting.”
If they were thinking of meeting the Chief Secretary again, Mahato said the decision on that too will be taken in a future meeting. The state government claimed that CCTV cameras have been installed at 26 percent of places in hospitals and the remaining work will be completed by October 10.
Meanwhile, Chief Secretary Manoj Pant said on Monday said the state government is working to strengthen the security measures of doctors in state-run hospitals and its results will reflect soon. The agitating junior doctors should not be impatient, Pant said, when asked about the SC observation during a hearing.
Pant said the state government is hopeful that the agitating junior doctors are aware of their responsibilities and would serve the patients to the best of their ability. “The work is going on everywhere. Thirty per cent of work has been completed at some places and it is 70 per cent at some other places. The government is aware and active. CM (Mamata Banerjee) herself is monitoring the situation.
“It’s a collaborative effort and I am sure the results will be visible. We should not be impatient,” he said, adding that such work requires some time to complete.
—PTI inputs
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