Kolkata doctor rape-murder: Maharashtra resident doctors’ strike intensifies as seniors join them

Around 6000-7000 senior resident doctors affiliated to the Maharashtra Association of Bonded Resident Doctors (MABRD) and the Association of State Medical Interns (ASMI) joined the strike on Friday.

Mumbai: The resident doctor’s indefinite strike intensified in Maharashtra on its fourth day on Friday, with their seniors joining the protest, disrupting services at government and civic hospitals and inconveniencing thousands of patients in the state.

Dr Pratik Debaje, president of Maharashtra State Association of Residential Doctors (Central-MARD) told PTI that 6000-7000 senior resident doctors affiliated to the Maharashtra Association of Bonded Resident Doctors (MABRD) and the Association of State Medical Interns (ASMI) joined the strike on Friday.

“17,000-18,000 (resident) doctors in Maharashtra are on strike at present,” Debaje said.

Resident doctors in the state launched an indefinite strike on Tuesday morning to express solidarity with the nationwide agitation against the rape-murder of a post-graduate trainee in Kolkata’s RG Kar Medical College and Hospital last week.

On the fourth day of the resident doctor’s strike, elective services, including OPDs, OTs, and lab procedures, remain affected due to the strike, causing inconvenience to thousands of patients in Mumbai and other parts of the state.

Emergency services, however, continue uninterrupted, said officials.

The Central-MARD has demanded an impartial and transparent investigation into the Kolkata incident, speedy formation of an expert committee for implementation of the Central Healthcare Protection Act, improved security measures, including fully functional CCTVs and well-equipped guards, quality hostels, and proper on-call rooms for resident doctors.

Debaje said that the resident doctors at JJ Hospital in Mumbai and other major hospital campuses are peacefully protesting over their demands, but they have planned a sit-in at Azad Maidan in the Fort area later in the day. A large number of resident doctors are likely to join the protest on the ground.

On Wednesday, MABRD announced its support for the resident doctors’ strike and threatened to intensify it from August 16 if their demands remained unfulfilled.

Meanwhile, Dr Santosh Kadam, president-elect of the Indian Medical Association (IMA)-Maharashtra, has given a call to doctors across the state to withdraw services on Saturday (August 17) over the Kolkata rape-murder.

IMA has announced a 24-hour nationwide withdrawal of non-emergency services from 6 am on August 17 to protest against the incident and the subsequent vandalism at the Kolkata hospital.