Protesting Junior Doctors Partially Resume Duties After 42-Day Cease Work, Set Up Abhaya Clinics in Flood-Affected Areas

Protesting junior doctors in West Bengal partially resumed their duties on Saturday after a 42-day hiatus. This comes after a prolonged cease work agitation triggered by the tragic rape and murder of an on-duty woman doctor at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital. The West Bengal Junior Doctors front has also stated that they have formed teams that will go to the flood affected areas set up ‘Abhaya’ clinics and extend help to the people stranded there.

While the doctors returned to essential and emergency services in state hospitals, they decided not to rejoin outpatient department (OPD) duties. “We have started rejoining duties today in essential and emergency services, but not in OPDs. This is only a partial resumption of duties,” stated Aniket Mahato, one of the protesting doctors.

Some members of the group have also traveled to flood-affected districts to establish ‘Abhaya clinics’ (medical camps), showcasing their commitment to public health amid ongoing protests.

The junior doctors have given the administration a week to address their demands, which include justice for the deceased doctor and the removal of the state health secretary. They warned that failure to meet these demands would result in another round of ‘cease work.’

The protests began on August 9 following the brutal rape and murder of a 31-year-old PGT doctor at Kolkata’s RG Kar Medical College and Hospital, focusing on the pursuit of justice and the call for the removal of key officials linked to the case. The protesting doctors decided to partially call off their cease work and resume their duties after two rounds of talks with the Bengal government, the first with Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and the second one with Chief Secretary Manoj Pant. In the meantime, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has arrested the former principal of RG Kar Hospital, as part of its ongoing investigation.​