New Delhi: Resident doctors in various parts of India on Friday began a solidarity protest in support of two junior doctors brutally beaten up by the relatives of a 75-year-old patients who died on June 10 at the Kolkata based NRS hospital.
The junior doctors, Paribaha Mukhopadhyay and Yash Tekwani, suffered head injuries and have been hospitalised since the incident.
Mukhopadhyay, who suffered a skull fracture, has undergone surgery at the Institute of Neurosciences in Mullickbazar. Tekwani is admitted to NRS.
The nationwide protest comes as the Delhi Medical Association had called for a medical bandh across Delhi and warned of intensifying their agitation in case the culprits behind the assault of doctors were not held.
Girish Tyagi, President of DMA, in a statement said that the medical body will intensify their agitation in case the culprits behind the assualt of doctors at NRS hospital are not held.
Similarly, the Indian Medical Association (IMA) also launched a three-day nationwide protest from Friday and called for a strike on June 17 with withdrawal of non-essential health services.
In Delhi, scores of doctors at several government and private hospitals held demonstrations by boycotting work, marching and raising slogans.
The protesting doctors in Delhi hospital, including All India Institute of Medical Sciences, met Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan and apprised him of the medical fraternity’s demand of ensuring safety and security of doctors in face of any violence in hospital premises.
Following the meeting, Harsh Vardhan urged the West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee to ensure an “amicable end” to the protests and provide a secure working environment for doctors.
The protest was carried on nationwide, crippling the patient care. However, the emergency services were functional considering the serious trauma cases.
Around 4,500 resident doctors in Maharashtra, including some 2,800 in Mumbai, went on a one-day strike.
The Maharashtra Association of Resident Doctors (MARD) had declared that junior doctors at government hospitals in the state will not perform surgeries or attend to out-patient departments (OPDs) between 8 am and 5 pm Friday.
In Hyderabad and other places in Telangana, Junior doctors staged protests against the assault at major state-run hospitals, including Gandhi hospital and Osamania General hospital in the
city.
In Jaipur, doctors at the SMS government hospital wore black bands and helmets to express solidarity with their protesting colleagues in West Bengal.
Doctors from other districts of Rajasthan also took part in the token protest, according to a report.
In Raipur, around 400 junior doctors of Dr B R Ambedkar Memorial Hospital, Raipur – the biggest government hospital in the state – staged a protest from 8 am to 2 pm in premises of the
medical facility.
The services at the state-run Goa Medical College and Hospital (GMCH) at Panaji and its facilities across the state were partially affected Friday as several doctors went on a one-day strike.
In Chandigarh, over 1,200 resident doctors at the Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER) held a demonstration to express solidarity with their protesting counterparts in Kolkata.
- The agitating doctors demanded that Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee intervene into the Kolkata incident and she spell out the steps the government will take to prevent recurrence of attacks on doctors.