RG Kar issue: Junior doctors' hunger strike enters 11th day
Times of India | 15 October 2024
KOLKATA: The ongoing indefinite hunger strike by junior doctors in West Bengal, demanding action in response to the RG Kar Hospital incident, reached its 11th day on Tuesday. Despite a meeting between medical representatives and the state government, no resolution was achieved, prolonging the impasse.
The situation escalated as two more doctors participating in the 'fast-unto-death' protest in Kolkata's Esplanade area fell ill, intensifying the unrest that originated from the tragic rape and murder of their colleague at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital.
On Monday, a critical meeting was held at Swasthya Bhavan between representatives from 12 doctors' associations and chief secretary Manoj Pant. However, the discussions concluded without any breakthrough.
The hunger strike, which commenced on October 5, followed nearly 50 days of 'cease work' protests divided into two phases. The catalyst for the agitation was the horrific rape and murder of a postgraduate trainee at the state-run RG Kar Medical College and Hospital on August 9.
As of Tuesday, seven junior doctors persisted in their hunger strike, with several necessitating urgent medical intervention.
Pulastha Acharya, a junior doctor from NRS Medical College and Hospital, was admitted to the facility's Critical Care Unit (CCU) on Sunday night after complaining of severe stomach pain.
Another junior doctor from Kolkata Medical College and Hospital, Tanaya Panja, experienced a significant deterioration in her health condition, losing consciousness and requiring immediate transfer to the medical establishment for treatment. Upon arrival, she was admitted to the CCU, where a team of doctors initiated prompt treatment.
The most recent junior doctor to participate in the fast was from the ENT department of North Bengal Medical College and Hospital, commencing the hunger strike on Monday afternoon.
Following the unsuccessful meeting with the doctors on Monday, chief secretary Pant stated that the doctors demanded a well-defined timeline to address their concerns. However, the government maintained that such a deadline could not be provided.
Pant noted that seven out of the ten demands put forth by the junior doctors had already been addressed, while the remaining three necessitated further administrative deliberation.
"For the remaining three demands, they were requesting specific timelines. These are administrative decisions that the state needs to consider, so we cannot provide a deadline at this point," Pant said.
The Joint Platform of Doctors (JPD) was invited by Pant for additional talks at the state health department headquarters. He encouraged them to cancel their scheduled 'Droher Carnival' protest on October 15.
The JPD had declared the protest to show support for the junior doctors, but the government was worried that it would overlap with the state's yearly 'Durga Puja Carnival.'
The junior doctors' main demands consist of justice for the RG Kar Hospital victim, the prompt dismissal of Health Secretary N S Nigam, and better workplace safety, together with further demands for a centralised hospital referral system, a bed vacancy monitoring system, and crucial infrastructure such as on-call rooms, CCTV, and adequate washrooms.
Insisting on a swift and open investigation by the CBI into the alleged rape-murder at RG Kar hospital, protesting junior doctors on Monday evening marched to Raj Bhawan and delivered a memorandum to the governor's secretary.