Protesters from Kolkata, the capital city of West Bengal, on Wednesday staged a street march demanding justice for a 31-year-old junior medic who was raped and murdered at state-run RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in August. Thousands of doctors, who were accompanied by people from all walks of life, vowed to resume their protest till the Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress government acted in a decisive manner.
The protest march was led by the Bengal Junior Doctors' Front. It started from College Street to the Esplanade area. This is an altogether new wave of protests by doctors at the state government as an escalation of an ongoing agitation over better safety measures for healthcare professionals.
"We are not in a Puja or Utsav mood and will keep agitating on the streets till our sister gets justice. We have chosen this Mahalaya day to send out this message," one of the protesters said, identifying herself as a colleague of the deceased, according to news agency PTI.
Mahalaya marks the onset of Devi Paksha in the Hindu calendar, which is believed to be the beginning of Durga Puja festivities as devotees worship Goddess Durga seeking an invitation for her to come to Earth. The agitators carried placards and national flags and chanted slogans, claiming they would not sit idle until justice is meted out. The junior medic protest march takes place as doctors' 'cease-work' stir begins in hospitals to protest the rape and murder of their colleague.
Doctors' Front leaders here vowed to continue their agitation till the government takes concrete steps at Esplanade as the rally came to an end. While addressing a gathering, an agitating doctor said, "We won't give up. It's regarding our safety, dignity, and justice to Abhaya. We can't expect the government to do nothing and sit quiet."
Thousands of doctors, nurses, medical students, and concerned citizens attended the rally. Later, the protesters gathered at the banks of Ganga, lighting 1,000 diyas there, making it a symbolic act in their fight for justice.
"Today is the 52nd day of our protest, and we are still facing attacks. There is no positive response from the state government toward meeting our safety and security demands," said one of the agitating junior doctors, Aniket Mahato, addressing the crowd at Esplanade.
The protesters, largely junior doctors, have been on a 'cease work' since Tuesday, accusing the West Bengal government of failing to fulfill promises made in mid-September. Although the doctors had partially resumed services after 42 days of the strike, they went back to 'cease-work' on Tuesday, alleging key demands that included enhanced safety measures for medical staff remained unimplemented.
Some of the major demands that the Bengal Junior Doctors' Front is placing include installing CCTV cameras in hospitals and providing round-the-clock security to health care workers, among others. Stronger protocols should be established to ensure that such an incidence of violence against health care providers does not recur.
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