GG News Bureau
Kolkata, 14th Oct. The hunger strike by junior doctors in West Bengal entered its 10th day on Monday, as they continue to press for their demands in the aftermath of the RG Kar Medical College and Hospital incident. The situation took a critical turn with another medic being hospitalised due to deteriorating health, officials reported.
Pulastha Acharya, a doctor from NRS Medical College and Hospital, was admitted on Sunday night after experiencing severe stomach pain. “Pulastha is in the CCU, and his health parameters have deteriorated. A medical board has been constituted to monitor his condition,” a senior doctor from the NRS Medical College said.
Earlier, three other junior doctors participating in the hunger strike, which spans across Kolkata and Siliguri, had been hospitalised due to declining health. The strike has continued despite interventions from state authorities.
Chief Secretary Manoj Pant, in a letter to the Joint Platform of Doctors (JPD) on Sunday, urged them to call off their planned demonstration on October 15, coinciding with the state government’s ‘Durga Pujo Carnival.’ He invited the JPD for discussions at Swasthya Bhawan, the state health department headquarters, on Monday, urging them to reconsider the hunger strike for the sake of the doctors’ health and well-being.
The junior doctors have made several demands, including justice for the RG Kar hospital victim, the removal of Health Secretary N S Nigam, and enhanced workplace security. They have also called for a centralised referral system across all state-run hospitals and medical colleges, a bed vacancy monitoring system, and the formation of task forces to ensure provisions like CCTV installations, on-call rooms, and washrooms at their workplaces.
The ongoing hunger strike, which began on October 5, follows a nearly 50-day ‘cease work’ agitation held in two phases. The protests were triggered by the tragic incident on August 9, where a postgraduate trainee doctor was raped and murdered inside the RG Kar Medical College and Hospital, prompting demands for improved safety measures and accountability within the healthcare system.
