Kolkata junior doctors send email seeking second meeting with Mamata Banerjee

Kolkata rape-murder case: The West Bengal Junior Doctors Front (WBJDF) on Wednesday sent another email to the state chief secretary Manoj Pant requesting one more meeting with chief minister Mamata Banerjee. The doctors stated that some of their demands remain unresolved, despite Mamata Banerjee claimed the government accepted “99%” of their demands after talks on Monday.
After a general body meeting on Tuesday, the protesting junior doctors resolved to continue their cease-work protests until their demands are implemented in a concrete manner by the state government. Their statement described the transfer of former Kolkata police commissioner Vineet Goyal and other senior officials of the health department as “partial victory” of their movement.
On Monday evening, the doctors relented on their demand for live streaming of their meeting with the CM and both sides agreed on recording the minutes of the meetings. The Bengal government allowed the junior doctor delegation to bring their own stenographer also agreed to sign the minutes of the meeting.
The two sides agreed to the sanctioning of ₹100 crore for infrastructure development in hospitals for doctors and rebuilding of patient welfare committees.
To tackle safety and security measures in hospitals, a special task force headed by the chief secretary will be established. The panel will have the home secretary, DGP, CP Kolkata and representatives of junior doctors as members, according to the meeting minutes.
The meeting also resolved to set up an “effective and responsive grievance redressal mechanism” in medical infrastructure across hospitals and colleges of the state.
The junior doctors had demanded the removal of state health secretary NS Nigam. Doctors claimed that they were assured on Nigam’s removal by the chief minister during talks on Monday.
The doctors said they also wanted to discuss measures announced regarding the safety and security of doctors inside hospitals. They also want a plan on how the state plans to spend the promised ₹100 crore for tightening doctors’ safety in state-run hospitals.
Another demand is the immediate notification of the chief secretary-headed task force in medical colleges and the conduct of student body elections to ensure adequate representation of junior doctors in the highest policy-making bodies of those institutions.
(With inputs from agencies)