KOLKATA: The fast-unto-death agitation by junior doctors over their demands on the ghastly rape and murder of a junior doctor of R.G. Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata entered the seventh day on Friday.
The number of strikers reduced to six after the hospitalisation of the seventh participant soon after Thursday midnight
Aniket Mahato, who was the participant in the hunger strike from R.G. Kar, had to be admitted to the same hospital after Thursday midnight, as his medical condition deteriorated drastically. He is currently admitted to the intensive care unit of R.G. Kar, with a five-member medical board attending him.
Meanwhile, the remaining six hunger-strikers namely Tanaya Panja, Snigdha Hazra, Sayantani Ghosh Hazra, Anushtup Mukhopadhyay, Arnab Mukhopadhyay and Pulastya Acharya, despite becoming weaker every day, on Friday, said that they will continue with their protests till their demands in the matter are fulfilled by the state government.
Among the six, the condition of Snigdha has started becoming quite critical. The doctors attending to them advised her to get admitted to the hospital on Thursday night along with Mahato, which she refused.
On Friday morning, the Joint Platform of Doctors, an association of senior doctors in the state, wrote to Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee requesting her immediate intervention to fulfil the demands of the protesting junior doctors.
At the same time, West Bengal Junior Doctors’ Front (WBJDF), the umbrella body of junior doctors spearheading the movement on this issue, has called for a mega rally near the hunger-strike dais on Friday afternoon and has invited the citizens to participate there in solidarity.
“We are already receiving spontaneous mass support. We are requesting them to join us in as many numbers as possible this afternoon. We will be distributing leaflets among people at the rally, where we will be updating them about our demands. We want to tell the people that our movement is not just in self-interest. Our movement is also to ensure better health services for the common people, " said WBJDF representative Debasish Halder.