Mamata Banerjee Announces Rs. 2 Lakh Compensation for Families of 29 Deceased Amidst Junior Doctors’ Strike

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Friday announced a compensation of Rs. 2 lakh for the bereaved families of the 29 people who lost their lives allegedly owing to the prolonged of the cease work of the junior doctors. This comes a day after talks between a delegation from the West Bengal Junior Doctor’s Front (WBJDF) and Mamata Banerjee failed as the junior doctors wanted the meeting to be live streamed, a demand that the state government did not relent to.

“It is sad and unfortunate that we have lost 29 precious lives due to disruption in health services because of long drawn cease work by junior doctors. In order to extend a helping hand to the bereaved families, State Government announces a token financial relief of Rs. 2 lakh to family members of each deceased person,” posted Mamata Banerjee on social media platform “X”.

The junior doctors of several medical college and hospitals across Bengal have ceased work in protest over the brutal rape and murder of a 31-year-old PGT doctor at Kolkata’s RG Kar Medical College and Hospital. The Supreme Court in its latest hearing had directed the protesting doctors to resume their duties by 5pm on September 10. However, the doctors instead took out a rally to the state health headquarters and have maintained that they will not get back to work unless their demands are met.

In a bid to break the standoff between the Bengal government and WBJDF, Mamata Banerjee had called for a meeting with the junior doctors. The delegation from the West Bengal Junior Doctors' Front had arrived at Nabanna, the state secretariat, to meet with the Chief Minister. However, the doctors insisted that the meeting be live streamed, a demand that the authorities refused to accommodate. The stalemate continued as Banerjee left after waiting for over two hours due to the junior doctors' refusal to engage in dialogue without live streaming. “We have been waiting for over two hours to meet our doctor brothers and sisters who were invited here. We wrote them a letter and they wrote us back assuring that they will come. Only after receiving their confirmation, we invited them but it's been two hours and there is no communication from them yet…Solutions can only be found through dialogues,” said the West Bengal Chief Minister.​