7-day-long doctors' strike ends in Kolkata after Mamata assures redressal

"After having talks with CM Mamata Banerjee, we have decided to call off the strike. We have decided to give the government some time to work on our demands. We extend our heartfelt gratitude to the CM and all who have extended their spontaneous support to us, making our movement a success," the protesting junior doctors said in a statement.

"We are humans and we might commit some mistake, in that case, lodge your complaints at grievance cell. I want to reach out to all across the nation that even our CM has clearly stated that there will be zero tolerance towards any assault on doctors be it junior or senior," a junior doctor representative said.

He said: "We withdraw our strike for now and the CM has assured action as early as possible."

The decision was taken at the general body (GB) meeting of the junior doctors following the talks with the CM.

After the meeting, one of the representatives of the protesting junior doctors told media that they feel positive after the meeting.

They also said that while some measure can be time-consuming they are hopeful that at least some initiatives would be taken immediately.

"The CM made it clear that nobody has the right to harass the doctors," said a junior doctor.

Meanwhile, celebrations erupted at the NRSMCH soon after the delegation reached the premise.

Banerjee also called the meeting hopeful and left to visit the injured junior doctor Paribaha Mukhopadhyay at the hospital.

"We had a fruitful meeting today," the Chief Minister said after the 90-minute long meeting which was aired live on TV.

During the meeting, the Chief Minister even suggested 10-point security measures for the safety of doctors in hospitals that would prevent a recurrence of attacks by relatives of patients which had triggered a strike by the medical practitioners in West Bengal since last Tuesday.

The delegation team said they will make an announcement on the strike after returning to the NRS Medical College and Hospital where the attack on doctors by patients relatives took place last week.

Banerjee met 24 representatives of junior doctors here.

In the meeting, Banerjee even accepted the proposal of the doctors to set up Grievance Redressal Cell in Government Hospitals.

Earlier on Sunday, after a long stand-off, the striking junior doctors put the ball in the Chief Minister's court, expressing their readiness to meet Banerjee at any venue she decides.

After the five-hour-long general body meeting this morning, the junior doctors said they want to meet the Chief Minister under camera supervision, thereby ruling out any closed-door meeting.

Why did the strike start?

The junior doctors went for an indefinite strike across West Bengal after relatives of Kolkata's Tangra resident 85-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.

The matter got more complex after Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee visited the SSKM Hospital a day ago and lost her cool over the protesters.

Banerjee, amid sloganeering by the agitators, 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.

Doctors from Delhi, Mumbai and other cities have also joined the protest against the assault on Mukhopadhyay.

Going tough with the Banerjee-led West Bengal government, the Calcutta High Court on Friday asked the ruling dispensation to mediate with the junior doctors protesting against the attack on their mate Paribaha Mukhopadhyay.