Doctors Nationwide Protest, Boycott Work in Solidarity With Bengal

Doctors on Friday held protests across the country, while many hospitals announced a strike.

The Doctors’ strike that started in Kolkata earlier this week has now spread across India with the doctors’ association of AIIMS showing full support to their WestBengal colleagues.

(Photo: IANS)

Many doctors in hospitals across Delhi and Maharashtra are observing a strike on Friday, 14 June, as a mark of protest, showing solidarity with their protesting colleagues in West Bengal.

In Maharashtra, around 4,500 resident doctors will boycott work on Friday to register their protest after two medical interns of NRS College were grievously assaulted by a relative of a patient in Kolkata, The Times of India reported.

The Maharashtra Association of Resident Doctors (MARD) said that junior doctors across government hospitals in the state would not be performing surgeries and would not be available to work in out-patient departments (OPDs) between 8 am and 5 pm on Friday.

“We are shutting down our OPD, ward and academic services from 8 am to 5 pm today. Emergency services will not be hampered,” the statement read.

However, the body said that emergency services would remain active.

In Delhi, resident doctors at AIIMS decided to boycott work on Friday, condemning the violence in West Bengal. The AIIMS RDA has also urged the RDAs across the country to join the strike, reported The Times of India.

The AIIMS RDA had issued a statement, saying they would boycott work in a pan-India strike on Friday.

“We have also decided to boycott work and observe ‘black day’ today to protest against the assault on doctors in West Bengal. It will be a pan-India strike and only emergency services will remain functional.”

The IMA statement

On Thursday, doctors at AIIMS wore red-stained bandages and helmets while tending to patients all day long. The Delhi Medical Association (DMA) had urged its members to observe a "Black Day" on Thursday against the brutal attack.

On Friday, at Delhi's Safdarjung Hospital too, the OPD will remain shut, with doctors boycotting work, a Times of India report said.

The Indian Medical Association (IMA) has also called for a nationwide protest on Friday, urging all medical professionals to wear black bands and asking all state units to hold demonstrations in front of district collectors' offices from 10 am to 12 noon.

According to The Times of India, many doctors from corporate-run hospitals will also join the protest, with OPD services remaining shut at many private hospitals.

Resident doctors of Maulana Azad Medical College in Delhi will also be on strike, The Indian Express reported.

Nationwide Protests Held by Doctors

Doctors in major cities across the country such as Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad protested against the violence against the doctors in Kolkata.

Resident Doctors at Raipur's Dr Bhimrao Ambedkar Memorial Hospital on Friday raised slogans of 'We Want Justice', while doctors were seen holding 'Save the Saviour' & 'Stand with NRSMCH' posters at Government Medical College in Nagpur.

(Photo: ANI)

AIIMS doctors held a protest by organising a sit-in, while wearing bandages on their heads, while Resident Doctors' Association, Safdarjung Hospital, Delhi also held a protest, carrying posters which said "RDA Stands With NRS MCH & West Bengal Doctors'.

AIIMS doctors held a protest.(Photo: IANS)

Doctors of Safdarjung hospital hold a protest.(Photo: ANI)

Doctors at Jaipuria hospital carry out their duties wearing black bands as a mark of protest over violence against doctors in West Bengal, ANI reported, while doctors at Mumbai's JJ Hospital also rose in solidarity, carrying posters with 'Save the Saviour' slogans, News18.com reported.

Doctors at Jaipuria hospital. (Photo: ANI)

Members of Indian Medical Association, Trivandrum also held a protest, as per instructions of the body.

Doctors in Trivandrum.(Photo: ANI)

Prashant Choudhary, President MARD, Sion Hospital, Mumbai said that doctors of the hospital were holding a silent protest against the attack and the breakdown of law and order thereafter.

According to The Hindu, resident doctors and students of Osmania Medical College, Hyderabad staging a protest in solidarity with their colleagues in West Bengal, while doctors at Nizam's Institute of Medical Sciences also held a protest march.

Doctors of Nizam’s Institute of Medical Sciences hold a protest march(Photo: ANI)

Closer to Kolkata, the centre of activity, doctors at North Bengal Medical College, Siliguri also observed a strike on Friday.

(With inputs from ANI, The Times of India, News18.com, The Hindu and The Indian Express.)