After 50 RG Kar medicos resign, More senior doctors join in support of junior doctors

Kolkata: After 50 senior doctors and faculty members of RG Kar Medical College and Hospital tendered their resignation, now at least 230 senior doctors from various other state-run medical colleges in West Bengal resigned on Wednesday in support of seven junior doctors who have been on indefinite hunger strike since October 5. 

The mass resignation of the doctors comes from the city’s prime medical colleges including 56 more doctors and faculty at RG Kar Hospital, 19 doctors from Jalpaiguri Medical College and Hospital, 50 from North Bengal Medical College and Hospital, Siliguri, 35 from Calcutta National Medical College and Hospital and around 70 doctors from Calcutta Medical College and Hospital. 

“We the senior faculty members of Medical College and Hospital, Kolkata are rendering mass resignation to protest of the insensitive attitude towards justified democratic movement and deteriorating health conditions of the protesting doctors on indefinite hunger strike. Individual resignation will follow if the situation demands so,” said a mass resignation letter signed by senior doctors of Calcutta Medical College.

Also read- 50 Senior Doctors at RG Kar Medical College submit En-masse Resignation

This comes a day after 50 senior doctors and faculty members of RG Kar Medical College and Hospital submitted their resignation letters to the director of medical education on Tuesday expressing concern for the deteriorating health of the junior doctors on hunger strike since October 5 seeking justice for Abhaya, PG trainee doctor who was allegedly brutally raped and murdered in the seminar room of RG Kar Hospital and workplace safety for doctors. 

Condemning the government's insensitive attitude towards the justified democratic movement and the deteriorating health conditions of the protesting doctors on indefinite hunger strike, the senior doctors and faculty members submitted their resignation urging the government to reconcile with the protesting doctors.

Medical Dialogues team had earlier reported that seven junior doctors from the West Bengal Junior Doctors Front on October 5 began an indefinite hunger strike in Kolkata over the RG Kar rape and murder case, demanding that the State government fulfil their long-pending demands. The protest is being held at Dharmatala, where doctors refuse to resume work until their issues are addressed.

This comes after the government failed to meet their demands. On October 5, the doctors issued the Bengal state government a 24-hour ultimatum to meet their demands, warning that they would begin an indefinite hunger strike if unmet.

In support of the seven junior doctors currently on hunger strike, dozens of senior and junior doctors in all State-run medical colleges held a 12-hour token hunger strike on Tuesday to mount pressure on the state administration. 

As per the latest HT news report, almost 94 hours after the hunger strike by the junior doctors began, the West Bengal Chief Secretary Manoj Pant sent a request to the junior doctors and asked them to meet him at the Swasthya Bhavan, headquarters of the West Bengal State Health Department, for a meeting on Wednesday at around 6.45 pm. 

A delegation of 29 junior doctors went to attend the meeting, however, it failed to conclude as the doctors were not satisfied with the government's assurances. 

“Except for some verbal assurances we got nothing from this meeting. We requested the government to issue some directives or at least give us a timeline as to when our demands will be met. They declined. The government only wanted us to withdraw the hunger strike. Our colleagues are on hunger strike for around 100 hours now. The government, however, said that they will do an assessment after the puja. We are totally frustrated,” Debasish Halder, one of the junior doctors, told reporters after the meeting.

“We are tired with the system. If needed, I am ready to give an individual resignation and be free of this duty. There are many doctors like me in the system who want to leave because of the endless problems we face,” Tapas Pramanick, Medical Officer, RGKMCH, told The Hindu.

“It has been two months since the movement started. We consider all the demands made by the juniors to be legitimate. We have asked the government to get into talks with the juniors, but they did not respond. This is unacceptable,” a senior doctor from the MCK said. 

Also Read: Kolkata Doctor Rape-Murder: Delhi Doctors stage hunger strike, candle march showing solidarity