Junior doctors in West Bengal continued with their agitation for the fourth day Friday, hampering regular services in all state-run medical colleges and hospitals, and a number of private hospitals.
However, emergency services were available at one or two hospitals, including Nil Ratan Sircar (NRS) Medical College and Hospital here, on Friday morning.
Notwithstanding Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s warning of strict action, if work is not resumed, the junior doctors carried on with their agitation.
Services were totally disrupted in outdoor facilities and other departments of state-run medical colleges and hospitals and a number of private medical facilities.
The junior doctors have been agitating since Tuesday demanding security for themselves in government hospitals, after two of their colleagues were attacked and seriously injured allegedly by relatives of a patient who died at the NRS Medical College and Hospital.
The spokesperson of the joint forum of junior doctors, Dr Arindam Dutta, told PTI that demonstrations will continue till their demands are met.
“The manner in which the chief minister threatened the junior doctors is quite unexpected… This is an insult to our community. We also condemn this… She has to apologise for what she said yesterday.
“We are not outsiders and this agitation is spontaneous… We are contemplating mass resignations,” Dutta said.
Banerjee, who visited the state-run SSKM hospital on Thursday in the wake of disruption of medical services in several parts of the state, had warned the doctors of action if they did not resume work.
She had also alleged that “outsiders” present among the agitating SSKM hospital doctors, “abused” her.
Expressing solidarity with their junior colleagues, senior doctors said that their demands were quite justified. (PTI)
