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Dr RV Asokan, President of the Indian Medical Association (IMA), on Friday met with the West Bengal Junior Doctors Front, who are on a hunger strike over the RG Kar Medical College and Hospital murder-rape case in Esplanade, Kolkata.
Following his visit, Dr. Asokan expressed concern for the health of the protesting doctors. He said, "IMA has appealed to the government to address this in emergency cases considering the deteriorating health of these doctors. The entire medical fraternity is concerned and, after these many days of fasting, I see their confidence. Not even once did they speak about themselves; they spoke about the system and corruption; they were concerned about people. They are standing up for the cause of the people and not for themselves." "The nation is concerned, doctors of India are concerned. After an unfortunate incident, the nation has reacted. The Supreme Court has decided to intervene but still, the movement has not died. So I wanted to find out and for the past 7 days, the doctors have been on a hunger strike and we are naturally concerned for their health. Today we have met them. We have known their demands which we feel are eminently doable. We have also come to appeal to the West Bengal government to resolve the crisis that has made me come here...I am sure the Chief Minister will be able to address this insecurity and take these boys and girls back to their work by accommodating their demands...", The IMA President said. Meanwhile, the doctors of the West Bengal Junior Doctors Front are continuing their protest over the RG Kar Medical College and Hospital murder-rape case, where a woman trainee doctor was found dead in the seminar hall of RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata. Among their demands are better security in hospitals in Kolkata and the removal of the health secretary. On Thursday, the West Bengal Junior Doctors' Front wrote a letter to Chief Secretary Manoj Pant, expressing frustration over the state government's silence regarding their concerns. In their letter, the doctors expressed disappointment that it took 96 hours of an indefinite hunger strike to secure a meeting. They stated, "We were disheartened by the fact that it took 96 hours of indefinite hunger strike for you to even call us for a meeting." They noted that their previous emails on September 26 and September 29 had gone unanswered, despite their hopes that the government was taking their demands seriously. The doctors stated that the recent meeting provided no new information and that they were verbally updated on their demands, which had already been publicly announced. They insisted on their right to know the progress of the government's actions. "We reserve every right to formally know the progress of the works that are being done by the state," the letter continued, emphasising their demand for a status report every seven days. The group pointed out that it has been 23 days since their last meeting without any updates or the promised security audit. The West Bengal Junior Doctors' Front also requested an immediate status report and security audit from the government, stating, "Hence, we request you to provide us a status report of the works undertaken by yourselves and also the security audit undertaken by you (as stated by yourself) immediately." (ANI)
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