Striking Indian doctors set to resume duties for essential services

Indian doctors on strike in Kolkata to protest the brutal rape and murder of a colleague will resume some duties from from September 21 in order to assist flood victims in West Bengal.

The discovery of a 31-year-old doctor's body at a state-run hospital in the eastern city last month led doctors to demand greater workplace safety for women and justice for their slain colleague, prompting India's Supreme Court to create a hospital safety task force.

While protests and strikes have subsided in other parts of India, demonstrations continued in Kolkata, the capital of West Bengal state.

Medics sit and chant slogans as they attend a protest condemning the rape and murder of a trainee medic at a government-run hospital, in Kolkata, India, September 10, 2024Reuters

"We will return to work in a phased manner from Saturday," said Aniket Mahato of the West Bengal Junior Doctors Front told AFP following late-night talks with authorities.

Junior doctors will return to emergency rooms in state-run hospitals but will not resume their duties in outpatient departments, inpatient services, or planned surgeries, Mahato said.

He added that the decision was made after heavy floods affected parts of West Bengal in recent days. "It's time to move and help the affected people," he said.

The junior doctors will resume essential duties from Saturday, the West Bengal Junior Doctors' Front, which represents about 7,000 physicians in the state, said in a statement on Thursday.

Doctors had previously given the state government a seven-day deadline to implement measures to enhance security in hospitals. Mahato emphasized that the strike could resume if these demands are not met.

A woman trainee doctor was found dead at Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata on August 9Reuters

The attack in August led tens of thousands of Indians to join the protests, highlighting concerns over the safety of female healthcare workers. Doctors are demanding better security, including additional CCTV coverage, deployment of female security personnel, adequate lighting, toilets, and resting spaces.

One man was detained in connection with the murder, while the West Bengal state government faced public criticism for its handling of the investigation. This eventually led to the dismissal of the city's police chief and top health ministry officials.

Last month, India's Supreme Court ordered a national task force to examine ways to improve security for healthcare workers, stating that the brutality of the killing had "shocked the conscience of the nation."

The attack has drawn comparisons to the 2012 Delhi bus gang rape and murder, which sparked weeks of widespread protests.