Kolkata (West Bengal) [India], October 5 (ANI): West Bengal junior doctors on sAturday announced a hunger strike to protest against the rape and murder incident at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital.
Earlier on Friday, the doctors had issued the Bengal state government a 24-hour ultimatum to meet their demands, warning that they will begin an indefinite hunger strike if unmet.
One of the protesting doctors said that they have been waiting and demanding from the authorities for a long time but no resolution has been reached.
“We are sitting for a hunger strike. We have been waiting for 58 to 59 days, we presented our demands to the government, we have also emailed the Chief Secretary a lot. Despite that, we have been waiting for a resolution but we did not get it. After giving a 24-hour notice, around 6 of us are sitting on a hunger strike representing West Bengal Junior Doctors Front,” doctor Sayantani told ANI. 
“Our fight, from day one and in the future will be the same, which is justice for Abhaya, who was raped and murdered. To get her justice so that another Abhaya does not happen,” the junior doctor added.
The doctors also demanded more transparency in hospitals, “We have written the Chief Secretary a detailed email, in which some of the helpless patients who don’t know about bed vacancies or facilities, they have to roam around here and there, they should get transparency too. Since we are talking about transparency, I would like to inform that our hunger strike will also have a CCTV. So we can show that we can maintain transparency.”
Earlier, another junior doctor said that the government has failed to improve the security and safety measures of hospitals.
“Our demand is simple. We’ve given the government time to improve the safety and security of hospitals. However, the government has failed to do so. They even admitted before the Supreme Court that only a few measures have been implemented,” said Parichay Panda, one of the protesting doctors.
Earlier, on Monday, the Supreme Court requested a report from the National Task Force concerning safety and other issues related to professionals in the case of the August 9 rape and murder of a postgraduate trainee doctor at Kolkata’s RG Kar Medical College and Hospital.
A bench led by Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud, along with Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra, issued this directive while hearing the suo motu petition regarding the incident. The top court had previously constituted a National Task Force to examine safety concerns and consider developing an action plan to prevent gender-based violence and ensure a dignified working environment for interns, residents, and non-resident doctors.
On Wednesday, undergraduate and postgraduate students, junior doctors, and interns from North Bengal Medical College and Hospital in Siliguri held a torchlight procession protesting the rape and murder of a woman doctor at Kolkata’s RG Kar Medical College and Hospital.
Meanwhile, doctors from private hospitals lit earthen lamps at Ganga Ghat in Kolkata as a mark of protest over the same incident. (ANI)
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