Doctors across the country began protests on Friday to express solidarity with their counterparts in West Bengal, who have been on strike since Tuesday to demand greater security from the Mamata Banerjee government there.
Two junior doctors at a state-run hospital in Kolkata were assaulted by a mob on Monday after the death of a patient at the facility.
The Indian Medical Association on Thursday announced its support for the protests in West Bengal and declared an “All India Protest Day” on Friday. According to an organisation statement, all IMA members have been directed to wear black badges while all state branches will organise dharnas outside the offices of district collectors from 10am to 12pm.
On Friday, protests were reported from various medical institutions in Delhi, Maharashtra, Bengaluru and Hyderabad. At the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in Delhi, patients reportedly faced difficulty in getting treatment as the resident doctors association there is on strike. Resident doctors at AIIMS said emergency services would function. The Delhi Medical Association announced there would be a statewide 'medical bandh' that would extend to private clinics, nursing homes and corporate hospitals.
Doctors in Delhi also held a demonstration at Jantar Mantar, condemning the assault on junior doctors in Kolkata.
In Hyderabad, doctors at the Nizam's Institute Of Medical Sciences held a march to condemn the violence in Kolkata. In Maharashtra, the Maharashtra Association of Resident Doctors (MARD) announced its members would be on strike from 8am to 5pm. The MARD stir would include the shutdown of OPD, ward and academic services, though the association added emergency services would not be hampered.
On Thursday, doctors in Kolkata announced they would not call off their protest despite an ultimatum from Banerjee earlier that day.