Kolkata Doctors End Strike But Protests Persist Over 5 Key Demands
Junior doctors in Kolkata have been protesting for over a month, defying a Supreme Court order by refusing to return to work until their demands are fulfilled.
Image Source: Business Standard
Protesting junior doctors in Kolkata decided to call off their strike on Friday after West Bengal Chief Secretary Manoj Pant assured the implementation of safety and security measures. Despite calls from the government and judiciary to resume work, the doctors outlined five key demands before Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, insisting they would only cease protests once these were met. While they received assurances of no punitive action and government cooperation, the doctors made it clear that the strike would continue until they saw concrete action.
After two failed attempts at talks with the Mamata Banerjee-led government, the doctors presented their demands, which included:
- ₹100 crore allocated for infrastructure improvements in hospitals and revamping patient welfare committees.
- The creation of a special task force led by the Chief Secretary, along with the police commissioner and junior doctor representatives.
- A grievance redressal mechanism in hospitals and medical colleges.
- The removal of Kolkata Police Commissioner Vineet Goyal due to accusations of mishandling a case, along with DC (North) Abhishek Gupta.
- The dismissal of the state’s Director of Health Services (DHS) and Director of Medical Education (DME).
On Tuesday, the government acted by replacing Vineet Goyal with Manoj Kumar Verma and removing both the DC (North) of police, DHS, and DME from their posts. Additionally, as per a Supreme Court directive, the government committed to installing CCTV cameras and increasing police presence at hospitals for safety.
However, the formation of the special task force and a fully operational grievance redressal system have yet to materialize. While doctors welcomed the removal of key officials, they remain cautious, with junior doctor Aniket Mahata expressing that the sit-in protest would continue until all demands were met. Despite this, doctors have decided to partially withdraw the strike due to the flood-like situation in the state, affecting the need for medical care. They will continue to boycott the Outpatient Department (OPD) but will participate in emergency and essential services.
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