‘Till the time our demands of justice…we will sit here’: WB junior doctors continue hunger strike

KOLKATA: Junior doctors on Sunday went on an indefinite hunger strike over their demands from the Mamata Banerjee led-West Bengal government and asserted that they will continue to demonstrate their protest until their demands for justice on humanitarian grounds are not met.

The doctors emphasised that their fight is not against the public, but by and for the public. Dr Sayantani who spoke on the hunger strike, said, “Till the time our demands of justice on humanitarian grounds is not fulfilled, we will sit here. Before her rape and murder, Abhaya went through multiple threats. Anyone could have been ‘Abhaya’. It is our responsibility that there is no more Abhaya. This is not a fight against the public, this fight is by and for the public.”

“On one hand, we are sitting on a hunger strike, while on the other we see a minor girl was raped and murdered. Many cases similar to RG Kar have happened after August 9, still, all doctors except the six of us sitting here, have gone back to their duties to ensure no one faces any trouble during Navratri”, she said.

#WATCH | Esplanade, Kolkata: Dr Sayantani, West Bengal Junior Doctors Front, says, “Till the time our demands of justice on humanitarian grounds is not fulfilled, we will sit here… Before her rape and murder, Abhaya went through multiple threats… Anyone could have been… https://t.co/w5BXdqwjE1 pic.twitter.com/RXSi6AH7qK

— ANI (@ANI) October 6, 2024

On Saturday, Dr Sayantani from West Bengal Junior Doctor’s Front said, “We are starting a hunger strike from now onwards. We waited for 58-59 days and presented our demands in front of the state government, but to no resort”.

The doctor said that six representatives from the West Bengal Junior Doctor’s Front will carry out the hunger strike. “We, 6 people representing the West Bengal Junior Doctor’s Front, are going on an indefinite hunger strike. Our fight has been for justice for Abhaya from day one. Every doctor will provide their service to the people during the Navratri festival but we 6 doctors will be on an indefinite hunger strike”, said Dr Sayantani.

The doctors had called off their “total cease work” on Friday with a 24-hour ultimatum to the state government to fulfill their demands. Earlier, another junior doctor said that the government has failed to improve the security and safety measures of hospitals.

“Our demand is simple. We’ve given the government time to improve the safety and security of hospitals. However, the government has failed to do so. They even admitted before the Supreme Court that only a few measures have been implemented”, said Parichay Panda, one of the protesting doctors.

On Monday, the Supreme Court requested a report from the National Task Force concerning safety and other issues related to professionals in the case of the August 9 rape and murder of a postgraduate trainee doctor at Kolkata’s RG Kar Medical College and Hospital.

A bench led by Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud, along with Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra, issued this directive while hearing the suo motu petition regarding the incident. The top court had previously constituted a National Task Force to examine safety concerns and consider developing an action plan to prevent gender-based violence and ensure a dignified working environment for interns, residents, and non-resident doctors.

On Wednesday, undergraduate and postgraduate students, junior doctors, and interns from North Bengal Medical College and Hospital in Siliguri held a torchlight procession protesting the rape and murder of a woman doctor at Kolkata’s RG Kar Medical College and Hospital.

Meanwhile, doctors from private hospitals lit earthen lamps at Ganga Ghat in Kolkata as a mark of protest over the same incident. (ANI)