Bengal junior medicos strike work to protest violence

Submitted by Tarique Anwar on 28 May 2007 - 2:21pm.

By IANS

Kolkata : The strike by the junior doctors of two state-run medical college hospitals in West Bengal entered its second day Monday, leaving many patients a harried lot.


The house staff and interns of the Chittaranjan National Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata had ceased work protesting a mob fury in which the hospital premises were ransacked late Saturday night after a 22-year-old auto driver, Mohammad Riyazuddin, died.

A group of people from Riyazuddin's locality trooped into the hospital and destroyed a computer and a refrigerator.

Later police quelled the mob with baton-charge.

In a separate incident, over 150 junior doctors of the Burdwan Medical Colleges and Hospital in Burdwan district also went on a strike demanding proper security following mob outrage.

A mob attacked the hospital Friday following the death of a patient allegedly due to negligence.

The medical services in both the hospitals have virtually collapsed due to the strike. Authorities held a closed-door meeting with the junior medicos to restore normalcy.

Protesting frequent mob attacks on doctors, Indian Medical Association (IMA) vice-president Santanu Sen said no doctor, senior or junior, would let a patient die in front of his eyes.

"We don't do it intentionally but the patients' relatives attack the doctors some time, alleging negligence. We feel insecure as there are no protective arrangements," Sen said.