Kolkata Doctor's strike: Protest reaches Maharashtra and Delhi, OPDs to remain shut today

As residential doctors will e striking today,  the OPDs at AIIMS Delhi and Safdarjung will remain shut.

Doctors at  AIIMS Patna and Raipur have reportedly joined the protest.

With no breakthrough in the protest by junior doctors, Principal and the Medical Superintendent-cum-Vice-Principal (MSVP) of the Nil Ratan Sircar Medical College in Kolkata, which is the ground zero of the agitation, have tendered their resignations on Thursday night.

Expressing regret over not being able to combat the crisis in the medical college, Saibal Kumar Mukherjee (Principal of NRSMC) and Saurabh Chattopadhyay (MSVP)  sent their resignations to the Health Department.

Meanwhile, the Health Department has sent a letter to the superintendents of all state hospitals to make sure every doctor join work immediately else strict action will be initiated against them.

After a face-off with the protesting junior doctors at SSKM Hospital on Thursday afternoon, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has now urged all to resume their works.

The junior doctors went for an indefinite strike across West Bengal after relatives of Kolkata's Tangra resident 75-year-old Md. Sayeed, whose death at the NRS Hospital prompted cries of medical negligence from them, brought some 200 people to the hospital and beat up junior doctors, seriously wounding Paribaha Mukhopadhayay on Monday night.  

In a Facebook post, Banerjee said: ".......Health service is always dedicated to the patients. I, therefore, appeal to all to restore normal healthcare services to the patients without any further delay."

After paying a visit to the SSKM Hospital, Banerjee, amid sloganeering by the agitators, lost her cool and alleged that the protesters are "outsiders". She even sent an ultimatum to the agitators to join work within four hours or else they would face action. However, Banerjee's ultimatum didn't change the situation much.

"They are outsiders. The government will not support them in any way. I condemn doctors who have gone on strike. Policemen die in line of duty but the police don't go on a strike," she said. "The state spends Rs 25 lakh on each doctor and then they shirk work. This won’t be tolerated."

On the other hand, the protesting doctors slammed the Chief Minister and asked her to "apologise" for her comment. The agitating doctors raised slogan like ''We want justice'' in front of the Chief Minister.

In the Facebook post, Banerjee tried to address the difficulties of several patients in getting medical treatment.

Banerjee said: "Today when I visited SSKM, I saw gatherings of outsiders of different political parties shouting slogans in hospital silence zones and stopping emergency services. Patient parties are crying and outdoor services are closed. I sent some patients to private hospitals for immediate treatment."

She also stated her administration took steps against culprits who had attacked Paribaha Mukhopadhayay. "I sent Commissioner of Police, Kolkata to talk to the junior doctors. 5 persons have been arrested and their bail prayers were rejected by Ld Court."

Opposition leaders react:

Reacting to Mamata's move, BJP leader Jay Prakash Majumdar said: "Mamata reacted exactly the way she is running the state -by threatening... The students needed compassion but she threatened them."

On Mamata's comment on the state funding the students, he said:  "Is she funding the students' education? It is the taxpayers' money which is used to fund their education. She is not lending her personal money."

CPI-M leader Ashok Bhattacharya said: "Mamata is responsible for bringing the situation back to normal. She should have acted earlier."