Kolkata: As West Bengal celebrates its biggest festival, the Durga Puja, the state’s healthcare is on the brink of collapse, facing its most severe crisis in years.
On Saturday (October 12), the eighth day of the junior doctors’ hunger strike, another protester, Alok Verma of the North Bengal Medical College, was admitted to the ICU.
There are concerns among medical practitioners over the deteriorating health of other protesters.
“The health of the junior doctors on hunger strike is deteriorating. Eight doctors in Dharmatala and two in north Bengal have been on hunger strike since last Saturday. [Verma] has just been admitted to the ICU of the North Bengal Medical College. The condition of the others is also deteriorating,” stated one of the representatives of the West Bengal Junior Doctors’ Forum.
Doctors have accused the West Bengal government of using intimidation tactics to pressure them into ending their hunger strike. Police have allegedly visited the homes of some protesting doctors, pressuring their parents to influence their children to abandon the strike.
The Uttar Pradesh police reportedly visited Verma’s parents on Friday as part of this alleged campaign.
“People are dying because the system is rotten to the core. The government’s continued apathy shows they are unwilling to confront the reality. We are ready to take this movement to the next level, because this fight is for the common people who rely on us for their survival,” said Pulastya Acharya, one of the doctors on hunger strike.
Senior consultants in the city’s top private hospitals have halted non-emergency services in solidarity with the junior doctors on hunger strike.
People gather in Kolkata’s Dharmatala. Photo: Joydeep Sarkar.
On Thursday, the Federation of Medical Associations, which represents all medical associations in the state, issued a stark warning to chief minister Mamata Banerjee, threatening a complete shutdown of medical services in the state if the ongoing hunger strike by junior doctors led to any casualties.
In a strongly worded statement, the federation wrote: “If any casualty happens amongst [the junior doctors fasting unto death], that will be the last spark to light the flame. Once this happens, all doctors and the medical community of West Bengal will go on complete medical cease-work, no amount of force will be able to stop that movement.”
The threat of a state-wide strike has heightened tensions between the government and the medical community. Earlier this week, senior doctors in several state-run medical colleges across Kolkata and north Bengal resigned en masse, which the state government has claimed to be “invalid”.
“Each of these resignations mentions a ‘mass resignation’. According to service rules, a resignation letter must be submitted individually. Otherwise, it is not considered a resignation. This ‘mass resignation’ is not a valid resignation,” said Alapan Bandyopadhyay, principal advisor to the chief minister, at a press conference on Saturday.
The doctors’ demands include a thorough investigation into the recent murder of a fellow doctor, measures to prevent similar incidents in the future and improved working conditions.
“What the junior doctors are saying is terrifying. Fake doctors created through political connections, counterfeit medicines and the reuse of medical equipment – it’s shocking. I’ve worked in oncology at the R.G. Kar [hospital] for 27 years and we never faced such issues. This isn’t just a protest; it’s a mass movement to safeguard lives and dignity,” said senior radio-oncologist Shankar Nath.
In a statement, consultants at Apollo Multispecialty Hospitals declared: “We unanimously support the ongoing movement of junior doctors. In solidarity with their indefinite hunger strike, we have decided to stop all non-emergency clinical work starting Monday, October 14.”
While senior consultants at Fortis hospitals have already stopped out-patient department services starting Saturday, consultants at other super-specialty hospitals including Apollo Multispecialty, Manipal (formerly AMRI) and Medica said they will suspend non-emergency services from Monday. There is no clear timeline for their resuming operations.
The Indian Medical Association (IMA) has called on the state government to intervene, threatening a nationwide protest if demands are not met.
“Peaceful ambience and security are not a luxury. They are a prerequisite. We appeal to your good self to settle the issues with the young generation doctors as an elder and the head of the government,” stated the IMA in their letter to Banerjee.
Tensions escalated when nine students demanding justice for the August 9 rape and murder of a trainee doctor at the R.G. Kar Hospital were arrested after raising slogans at a puja pandal in south Kolkata controlled by a local Trinamool Congress leader.
Police invoked various sections of the law against those arrested, including unlawful assembly, assaulting a public servant, public mischief and provisions of the West Bengal Maintenance of Public Order Act.
While a local court initially granted seven-day police custody of those arrested, the Calcutta high court intervened and granted bail while responding to a petition filed by CPI(M) leader and advocate Bikash Ranjan Bhattacharyya arguing, “Is it a crime to rise in protest?”
The court observed that, at first glance, the state seemed to have acted inappropriately by detaining the individuals. The actions taken prima facie appeared to be disproportionate to the allegations, it said.
The court, however, directed them to not cause any disturbance or raise slogans within 200 metres of any puja pandals across the city.
“None of the slogans are either hateful or antireligious. No personal attacks have been made. Even the general public who did not form a part of any organised political group, had carried out demonstrations and rallies, with similar kind of slogans. Thus, in my, prima facie, the intention of the detenues was not to generate hatred and fear. No harm was intended. They protested against the establishment. Such kind of protest has been going on since long,” the court said.
It added: “Shouting of slogans [is] integral to any protest by any political group. Such practice is ingrained in the spirit of democracy. These are not anti-state activities.”
Accusing the ruling Trinamool Congress government of following the same playbook as BJP governments in other states when it comes to crushing dissent, CPI(M) state secretary Md Salim said: “We support the doctors’ movement. The Trinamool government is using the same tactics as BJP-ruled states to suppress dissent. If anything happens to the doctors, the government will be held responsible.”
Meanwhile, 247 prominent scientists from across West Bengal have written to Banerjee, expressing solidarity with the junior doctors and demanding urgent action to address the state’s deteriorating healthcare and social conditions.
Translated from the Bengali original by Aparna Bhattacharya.
