NEW DELHI: Protesting junior doctors in Kolkata began fast unto death on Saturday as they said that their demands were not fulfilled by the Mamata Bengree-led West Bengal government.
The doctors had called off their “total cease work” on Friday with a 24-hour ultimatum to the state government to fulfill their demands.
“Like we said yesterday, we have called off our ‘total cease work’ (at state-run medical colleges and hospitals), but we are launching a hunger strike from today (as West Bengal government has failed to fulfill our demands),” an agitating junior doctor told news agency PTI at a press conference in Kolkata.
“The state government has failed the deadline and hence we are starting the fast unto death till our demands are fulfilled. To maintain transparency, we have installed CCTV cameras at the dais where our colleagues will be holding the fast,” another junior doctor said.
“We will join duty as promised but will not eat anything,” he told PTI.
The doctors’ protest was triggered by the rape and murder of a trainee woman doctor at Kolkata’s RG Kar Medical College and Hospital on August 9.
The doctors had reverted to total cease-work on October 1, citing an attack on their colleagues at the College of Medicine and Sagore Dutta Medical College but withdrew it on Friday after a 24-hour ultimatum to the Mamata government.
The junior doctors have set a 10-point charter of demands revolving around the security at hospitals, threat culture and patient care services. They have also demanded the removal of the health secretary, an investigation into corruption in West Bengal Medical Council and West Bengal Health Recruitment Board, as well as student council elections in all medical colleges.
The Bengal Junior Doctors’ Front has raised several demands, including the installation of CCTV cameras on hospital premises, round-the-clock security for healthcare workers, and stricter protocols to prevent incidents of violence against medical professionals.
The doctors have also highlighted the culture of fear and intimidation within state-run hospitals, alleging that the administration has not provided a safe working environment.
Later, they said unless they saw demonstrable intent on the part of the government to address these issues with clear action on the ground, they would be compelled to carry on with the protest.
