Mamata Banerjee releases song for Chhath Puja, played at ghats across Bengal
On Monday, a crucial meeting between West Bengal’s Chief Secretary Manoj Pant and representatives of various doctors’ associations ended in disappointment. Senior doctors expressed their frustration, stating that the government failed to provide concrete timelines for fulfilling the 10-point demands put forth by junior doctors, who are currently on a hunger strike.
Senior doctors from multiple associations rejected the state government's appeal to withdraw their protest program. Instead, they invited the chief secretary to attend their "Treason Carnival," a symbolic protest event scheduled for Tuesday. The doctors' call came in response to the state government's request to end their ongoing agitation and hunger strike, which coincides with the Durga Puja Carnival at Red Road.
Moreover, mass resignations, initially triggered by protests for justice in the RG Kar case, have spread across medical colleges and hospitals in the state. In the meeting, senior doctors requested the government to provide resignation proformas for doctors willing to resign individually. Dr. Ranjan Bhattacharya, joint secretary of the Indian Medical Association (IMA), emphasized the doctors' willingness to resign personally if the situation remains unresolved.
Chief Secretary Manoj Pant, along with Home Secretary Nandini Chakraborty and other senior officials, including the state’s health director, attended the meeting. However, the notable absence of Health Secretary Narayanswaroop Nigam sparked further concerns among the doctors. Nigam’s absence, amid mounting demands for his removal from the health administration, was explained by the chief secretary as related to his scheduled appearance in the Supreme Court for the RG Kar Hospital case.
Another major concern was the deteriorating health of the junior doctors, who had been on a hunger strike for 10 days. Kaushik Chaki, president of the West Bengal Doctors’ Forum, urged the chief secretary to visit the hunger strikers in Dharmatala, instead of holding discussions "in the airy rooms." Chaki lamented the government’s lack of urgency, accusing them of putting their ego above the doctors’ lives.
Despite the lengthy two-and-a-half-hour meeting, there was little hope for resolution. The chief secretary emphasized that the government had made significant progress on seven out of the 10 demands and had documented the current status. However, when asked for a timeline on the remaining demands, Pant said it was not possible to provide one at this time.