PGIMER doctors protest over Kolkata hospital violence

Press Trust of India  |  Chandigarh 

Over 1,200 resident doctors at the and Research (PGIMER) here held a demonstration to express solidarity with their protesting counterparts in

The functioning of the OPDs was partially hit due to the protest.

However, Dr Uttam Kumar Thakur, of the Association of Resident Doctors at the PGIMER, said all emergency services functioned normally and the on-duty doctors did not join the protest.

The protest lasted for five hours from 8 am to 1 pm and the doctors returned to work after it, he said.

Doctors in are protesting since Tuesday against an attack on two of their colleagues by a mob following the death of a patient at the and Hospital in

Resident doctors at government hospitals in and too wore black ribbons during the working hours to protest the incident.

At the in Patiala, a demonstration was held.

Similar protests were reported from Bathinda in besides Faridabad, Sirsa and and some other places in

"We are with all the doctors who have struck work. We also demand strict action against the goons responsible for the attack," Dr said.

He said incidents of violence against on-duty doctors were "increasing day by day".

"Though laws are there to protect doctors from such attacks, these remain toothless in the absence of effective implementation. We want the Centre and state governments to ensure that these laws are effectively implemented," he told reporters.

Expressing solidarity with the doctors in West Bengal, Thakur said around 1,200 resident doctors at the PGIMER, along with 700 others, including paramedics and the nursing staff, condemned the Kolkata incident.

Hitting out at the Mamata Banerjee-led government, Thakur in an earlier statement said, "The role of the is absolutely disgusting."

"It is sheer inefficiency and callousness on the part of the government that they are incapable of giving the minimum protection to their on-duty doctors and solve this problem. We expect from the to hear the doctors rather than being stubborn in this situation," he said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

First Published: Fri, June 14 2019. 15:50 IST