Late in the night, the Health Department of West Bengal announced the transfer of three senior officials from the state-run R.G. Kar Medical College & Hospital in Kolkata. This includes the newly appointed Principal Suhrita Pal, Vice Principal and Medical Superintendent Bulbul Mukhopadhyay, and Dr. Arunava Duta Chowdhury, who heads the Chest Medicine Department.
According to State Health Secretary Narayan Swarup Nigam, these transfers were made to pacify the agitating junior doctors and medical students of R.G. Kar Medical College & Hospital, besides demands from the medical fraternity to bring back normal medical services in the state.
He further disclosed that the earlier decision to appoint the former R.G. Kar Principal Sandip Ghosh as the Principal of Calcutta National Medical College & Hospital has been revoked.
Earlier, the medical fraternity representatives staged a protest rally at Swastha Bhavan, the headquarters of the state Health Department. The agitationists submitted a memorandum of their demands, including revocation of appointment of Ghosh to CNMCH and removal of Pal from RG Kar, to the government during the demonstration.
The delegation that met with the Health Department officials came out fuming over the lack of any concrete response to their demands, and vowed to continue the protest till their demands are met. It seems that constant pressure from these protests has worked their way into forcing the state's hand in acting on some of their demands and making the official change.
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