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RG Kar: Junior doctors call off strike, will join work 'partially' in essential services from Saturday

by Trans World Features | @twfindia 20 Sep 2024, 01:54 am

Kolkata: The agitating junior doctors Thursday called off their strike after 41 days of protest over the gruesome rape and murder of a trainee PGT in RG Kar Medical College and Hospital and announced that the medics would "partially" return to work from Saturday, especially at the essential services department given the flood situation in Bengal.

However, the doctors said they will continue their protests unless justice is delivered in the RG Kar rape and murder case.

The junior doctors also announced a massive rally to be held from Swasthya Bhawan to the CGO Complex, where the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) operates, at 3 PM on Friday

"We are ending our dharna here in front of the Swasthya Bhawan and will return to work at our respective colleges from Saturday. However, we will partially join work given the flood situation in Bengal. We will make SOPs and return to essential services and departments where our services are required," Dr. Aniket Mahato, one of the leading faces of the protesting doctors, announced.

"We will still not join the OPD and OT services as we still don't feel safe. The Chief Secretary has accepted many of our suggestions regarding safety issues and crackdown of the threat culture but unless implemented, we won't join work fully," Dr. Debashis Halder, another junior doctor, announced.

The doctors vowed to continue their protests and warned that if the threat culture continues, they would return to ceasework. "We consider this a partial victory of our protest," the doctors said.

"The government should not take our decision lightly as we will continue protests on the streets, outside the CGO Complex, or at the Supreme Court. We want speedy justice for Abhaya and we want to clearly state that if our safety demands are not met, we will return to ceasework," Dr. Halder said.

"We want to thank the people for their massive support of our movement and invite them to join our rally tomorrow from Swasthya Bhawan to the CGO Complex. We will also take Abhaya clinics to all flood-hit areas and give back to the society for standing with us during our protests," he said.

The decision to end the ceasework partially was taken at their general body meeting a day after a second round of talks was held between the junior doctors and Chief Secretary Manoj Pant at state secretariat Nabanna on Wednesday following the one with Mamata Banerjee.

Although there was discord regarding the minutes of the meeting on Wednesday as the junior doctors were miffed with Pant for not signing any official document, they said that an email sent from the Chief Secretary Thursday promised that directives regarding safety will be implemented soon.

"We still want Principal Health Secretary Narayan Nigam to be removed from his position and will continue our legal battles in the Supreme Court," the doctors said Thursday.

The last meeting between protesting junior doctors and Mamata Banerjee at the latter's Kalighat residence on Monday saw the removal of Police Commissioner Vineet Goyal, DC North Abhishek Gupta and two other health officials.

The next hearing of the RG Kar case in the Supreme Court will be held on September 27.