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Protesting Doctors at Kolkata's RG Kar Hospital Continue Strike, Demand Health Secretary's Removal

Doctors at RG Kar Medical College in Kolkata have vowed to continue their strike until all demands, including the removal of the Health Secretary, are met 

18-09-2024
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Doctors at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata, where a trainee doctor was raped and killed, have declared that their ongoing strike will persist until all their demands are fulfilled. Among these demands is the removal of West Bengal's Health Secretary. The doctors also requested new talks with the government, following a previous meeting with Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.

The decision was announced early Wednesday after a five-hour governing body meeting that concluded around 1 a.m. The doctors emphasized that they would not resume work until their conditions were met. "The agitation and cease work will continue until all our demands are addressed. We seek fresh talks with the state government," they stated in a press conference.

On Monday, the protesting doctors met with Mamata Banerjee, who afterward stated that the government had accepted many of their demands, including the transfer of Kolkata Police Commissioner Vineet Goyal. A high-level panel led by the Chief Secretary was also established to address the doctors’ grievances. However, the government did not agree to the doctors’ call for the removal of Chief Secretary NS Nigam, one of their key demands.

While the outcome of the Monday talks was regarded as a “moral victory” by the doctors, they opted to continue their protest and called for further discussions before making a final decision.

By Tuesday, the doctors renewed their call for fresh talks, outlining additional demands. They insisted on a "democratic environment" and urged the government to meet several key requests, including better toilet facilities for doctors, more CCTV cameras in government hospitals, adequate accommodations, heightened security, and the reinstatement of student body elections.

Another key demand was the withdrawal of a government directive that bars female doctors from working night shifts. The doctors vowed that their protest would not end until these issues were addressed.

In the midst of the protests, the West Bengal government appointed senior IPS officer Manoj Kumar Verma as the new Kolkata Police Commissioner. Other officials, including Director of Health Services Debashis Halder, Director of Medical Education Kaustav Nayak, and Kolkata Police Deputy Commissioner Abhishek Gupta, were also removed from their posts, as promised by Banerjee during the earlier meeting.

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