October 22, 2024 - Following a nearly two-hour meeting with the West Bengal Chief Minister, Mamata Banerjee, at the State Secretariat Nabananna, the agitating junior doctors in Kolkata called off their indefinite hunger strike after 17 days. They also withdrew the full-scale health strike that was scheduled for today, October 22.

Therefore, the standoff arising after the rape and murder of a female trainee doctor at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital on August 9 came to an end last night. After meeting with the CM, the junior doctors held a meeting of the West Bengal Junior Doctors Front. 

One of the agitators, Dr Debashish Haldar said, "We are ending the indefinite hunger strike at the request of the parents of the victim. However, our movement will continue to seek justice for Abhaya and to bring about improvements in the state’s healthcare system. We will draft further strategies in the grand conference on Saturday." 

It is reported that in the meeting, the demand to remove the State’s Health Secretary was dismissed, though the CM assured the doctors that most of their demands would be considered.

Meanwhile, resident doctors of RNT Medical College, Udaipur, continued with their strike till last night affecting services in all the affiliated hospitals. Both the Out Patient Department and Emergency ward were severely impacted. Long queues of patients persisted. Even patients coming to the central lab for tests were hassled. Those with a two-to-three month waiting period for MRIs were sent back as only admitted patients were able to get MRIs. More than 100 operations, excluding emergency surgeries, were postponed. The wards for admitted patients were left entirely in the care of the nursing staff.

Source: Media Reports