Kolkata doctors to continue cease-work protest, seek fresh talks with government
The protesting doctors at Kolkata’s RG Kar Medical College and Hospital, where a trainee doctor was raped and killed, announced.
That they will continue their strike until all their demands are met, including the removal of the Health Secretary. They also sought fresh talks with the government, a day after holding meetings with Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.
The doctors made the announcement after a five-hour long governing body meeting, which ended at around 1 am on Wednesday. “Till all our demands are met with, the agitation and cease work will continue. We want fresh talks with the state government,” the doctors said at a press conference.
The protesting doctors met Mamata Banerjee on Monday, after which the Chief Minister announced that the state had accepted the majority of their demands, including the transfer of Kolkata City Police Commissioner Vineet Goyal. Banerjee also announced the setting up of a high-level panel under the Chief Secretary to address the doctors’ demands.
The doctors had pushed for the Chief Secretary NS Nigam’s removal during the meeting; however, the government did not decide in their favour.
Though the outcome of Monday’s meeting was hailed by the doctors as a ‘moral victory”, they refrained from calling off the protest and stated that a decision would be announced after further discussions.
On Tuesday, seeking a new round of talks, the doctors said that the government should provide them with a “democratic environment” and also listed fresh demands.
The demands include measures to ensure adequate toilet arrangements for doctors, installation of the required number of CCTV cameras in government-run hospitals, proper accommodation for doctors, increased security, and the conduct of student body elections.
The doctors also called for the withdrawal of the government directive barring female doctors from working night shifts. The protesters asserted that their agitation would continue until all their demands were met.
Meanwhile, the West Bengal government appointed senior IPS officer Manoj Kumar Verma as the new Kolkata Police chief.
Director of Health Services (DHS) Debashis Halder, Director of Medical Education (DME) Kaustav Nayak, and Deputy Commissioner of Kolkata Police’s North Division Abhishek Gupta were also removed as promised by Banerjee during Monday’s meeting.