Bengal junior docs to partially lift ‘cease work’, resume emergency duties from Saturday

Agitating junior doctors announced that they will “partially” lift their ‘cease work’ and partially rejoin their duties at emergency and essential services in state-run hospitals from Saturday as the West Bengal government has accepted most of their demands.

The medics, who have been on ‘cease work’ for the last 41 days following the rape and murder of a woman doctor at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital, announced that they would lift their sit-in outside Swasthya Bhawan on Friday.

Before lifting the sit-in, they would hold a march from Swasthya Bhawan, the state health department headquarters, to the CBI office at CGO Complex in the Salt Lake area.

“It has been decided that given the flood situation in West Bengal and the state government agreeing to certain demands of ours, we will be rejoining emergency and essential services partially from Saturday. We are withdrawing our cease work partially,” an agitating doctor said after their general body meeting.

The protesting doctors said they will not work in the Out Patient Department (OPD) but will work partially in emergency and essential services.

“We will withdraw our sit-in outside Swasthya Bhawan on Friday after the march to the CBI office. We will wait for a week for implementation of all the promises made by the West Bengal government and if unfulfilled, we will resume ‘cease work’,” the doctors said, adding that their fight for justice has not ended. PTI