Over 100 senior doctors resigned from two prime medical colleges and hospitals in W. Bengal in solidarity with their junior colleagues protesting and holding a fast-unto-death.
KOLKATA — A group of 75 acclaimed personalities from different walks of life on Wednesday sent an email to West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and Chief Secretary Manoj Pant, requesting to fulfil the demands of junior doctors protesting against the gruesome rape and murder of their colleague at R.G. Kar Medical College & Hospital in Kolkata.
In the email, signed by acclaimed personalities from different sectors like academics, the cultural world, and medical and legal professions, they have described the ongoing fast-unto-death protests by seven junior doctors in support of their demands as quite justified.
The representatives from the civil society have also pointed out that even after the ghastly rape and murder of a junior doctor, there had been instances of administrative lackadaisicalness in similar sensitive issues like the alleged rape and murder of a minor girl at Jaynagar in South 24 Parganas district last week.
According to signatories, since all these developments have created a general ambience of insecurity, a section of the junior doctors were forced to go on a hunger strike.
According to them, junior doctors’ demand for transparent and safe ambience at medical colleges and hospitals needs urgent attention.
They have also pleaded with the state administration to initiate discussions with the protesting doctors.
The e-mail from civil society to the Chief Minister and Chief Secretary was sent when the ongoing hunger strike by junior doctors entered the fifth day.
The fast-unto-death agitation started on Saturday night by six junior doctors from different medical colleges & hospitals. Doctors’ seventh colleague, one from R.G. Kar, joined the hunger strike on Sunday evening.
100 senior doctors tender mass resignations
Meanwhile, Over 100 senior doctors including senior faculty members resigned from two prime medical colleges and hospitals in West Bengal on Wednesday.
They were expressing solidarity with their junior colleagues protesting and holding a fast-unto-death against the rape and murder of a junior doctor in August.
The senior doctors who quit en masse are from Calcutta Medical College & Hospital in Kolkata and the North Bengal Medical College and Hospital at Siliguri in Darjeeling district.
At Calcutta Medical, a total of 70 senior doctors, including senior faculty members, resigned on Wednesday afternoon.
Although the exact number of doctors who resigned at the North Bengal Medical is yet to be known, sources said that the number will not be less than 40.
At the time the report was filed, information surfaced that senior doctors at Midnapore Medical College & Hospital in West Midnapore district are already prepared to tender mass resignations later in the day.
On Tuesday afternoon as many as 50 senior doctors at R.G. Kar Hospital, including representatives from the faculty there, tendered their resignations.
“We have tendered mass resignations now. If the state government wants, we will be forwarding our individual resignations at a later stage.
“If anything happens to the junior doctors fasting at Esplanade in Kolkata, who will take the responsibility of that? So our request to the state government is to take necessary steps before the matter takes a serious turn,” said a senior doctor of Calcutta Medical College.
Another resigning senior doctor said that it is unfortunate that the protests over the rape and murder have been going on for such a long time and there is no seriousness on the part of the state government to address that.
“We are now really worried about our seven junior doctors who are holding a fast-unto-death,” he added. — IANS
