Kolkata, October 16 (IANS). R.G. The fast unto death of junior doctors in Kolkata’s Esplanade continued for the 12th day in protest against the incident of rape and murder of a junior resident doctor of Kar Medical College.
The total number of junior doctors sitting on hunger strike on the platform at Esplanade has now reached seven. Rumelika Kumar of All India Institute of Sanitation and Public Health and Spandan Chaudhary of Midnapore Medical College and Hospital have also joined the hunger strike.
Meanwhile, as Durga Puja ends, Kolkata Police has deployed police at R.G. in North Kolkata to control the ongoing protests over the incident. The prohibitory order around the tax complex has been extended till October 30, under which the gathering of five or more people has been banned in that entire area.
Section 163 of the Indian Civil Defense Code has been imposed in areas including Shyambazar fine-point crossing, Tala, Shyampukur and Ultadanga.
Reacting to the extension of prohibitory orders, a protesting junior doctor said that such repressive decisions are not right. The protests against this heinous rape and murder are not limited to just Kolkata or West Bengal, it has become a national affair.
So far, five junior doctors who took part in the hunger strike that started on the evening of October 5 have had to be admitted to the hospital after their health deteriorated.
According to a representative of the West Bengal Junior Doctors Front (WBJDF), the junior doctors’ body leading the protest movement, the condition of those who have been on hunger strike since the evening of October 5 is deteriorating rapidly.
Meanwhile, civil society representatives like actress and film director Aparna Sen and academician Pavitra Sarkar have appealed to the West Bengal government to take a more humane approach towards the demands of junior doctors and initiate discussions to resolve the ongoing impasse.
–IANS
MKS/AS
