GG News Bureau
Kolkata, 12th Sept. Junior doctors in West Bengal maintained their sit-in protest outside the Health Department’s office and continued their ‘cease work’ action on Thursday. This ongoing agitation is in response to the alleged rape and murder of a young medic at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital.
The protesting doctors have been demonstrating outside ‘Swathya Bhavan’, the state health department headquarters, for over 40 hours. They are demanding the presence of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and a live broadcast of discussions as conditions for negotiations. However, the government has rejected these demands.
In response to the ongoing unrest, a large police presence has been deployed around ‘Swathya Bhavan’ in Salt Lake, with traffic regulations in place to manage the situation. The junior doctors have been clear in their stance, stating that their protest is not politically motivated.
“We will continue our agitation and cease work. The state government is not open to holding any meeting with us,” said one of the doctors, emphasizing that there is no political agenda behind their actions.
Healthcare services at state-run hospitals have been severely impacted, with the ‘cease work’ now in its 34th day. Minister of State for Health Chandrima Bhattacharya has suggested that political forces may be influencing the protests, a claim the medics have strongly refuted, asserting that their demands remain focused on justice and improved security measures for women health professionals.
Despite an invitation from the state government to meet at the secretariat Nabanna on Wednesday evening, the junior doctors have refused to attend unless their conditions are met. They have called for at least 30 representatives to be present during the talks and for the meeting to be broadcast live.
The protests began following the discovery of a postgraduate trainee’s body with severe injury marks at RG Kar hospital on August 9. The Calcutta High Court has directed the CBI to investigate the case.
The junior doctors are demanding justice for their colleague, enhanced security measures for women in the medical field, and the suspension of several officials, including the Kolkata Police Commissioner and the state health secretary, for alleged mishandling of the investigation.
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