BHUBANESWAR: Junior doctors, interns, and resident doctors, along with medical students, staged dharnas and protest rallies at different medical colleges in the state on Saturday, demanding justice for the trainee doctor who was raped and murdered at a medical college in Kolkata on August 9.
It was part of a 24-hour nationwide strike call given by the Indian Medical Association (IMA) to protest the heinous crime against the woman medico. The IMA had announced the withdrawal of non-emergency services from 6 am on Saturday to 6 am on Sunday.
Starting from MBBS students to senior resident doctors, everybody joined the protest dharna and candle march at AIIMS Bhubaneswar on Saturday. Shouting slogans, the protestors staged a demonstration in front of the national institute, demanding justice for the deceased trainee doctor. Patient services were hit at this hospital due to the strike.
Junior doctors at PGIMER and Capital Hospital, Bhubaneswar, also staged dharna on the campus, demanding justice for the deceased woman doctor and security for healthcare providers in the country. They also conducted a protest rally as part of the nationwide strike.
“Protests were underway across the state peacefully without hampering emergency services in the hospitals. We staged a demonstration at IMA House, Bhubaneswar, on Saturday evening, demanding justice for the deceased trainee doctor,” said Pratyush Kumar Ray, secretary of IMA Odisha.
Similar protests were seen at SCB Medical College and Hospital (MCH), Cuttack, MKCG MCH Berhampur, VIMSAR Sambalpur, SLN MCH Koraput, and other medical colleges in the state. Patient services were badly affected in VIMSAR due to the protest that started on Friday.
Junior doctors and other medicos of the MKCG MCH and members of IMA, Berhampur branch, staged a dharna in front of the OPD building of the hospital. “As per the decision of the IMA, we have expressed our solidarity with the junior doctors,” said Kamal Kant Panigrahy, president of IMA, Berhampur branch.
Subashish Behera, president of the Junior Doctors’ Association, MKCG MCH, said they have boycotted the OPD services since Friday. They, however, rendered their services to emergency cases and ICU patients. There were 500 junior doctors and other medicos in the protest, he added.
The strike saw the participation of approximately 125 house surgeons and 60 senior resident doctors at SLNMCH, leading to a significant impact on healthcare services. The OPD and casualty services were closed for the day, leaving many patients in distress. But emergency services were not affected because of the strike, said the official sources.
(With inputs from Satyanarayan Pattnaik in Koraput, Hrusikesh Mohanty in Berhampur, and Priti Suna in Sambalpur)
Stay updated with the latest news on Times of India. Don't miss daily games like Crossword, Sudoku, and Mini Crossword.Hemanta Pradhan writes for the Times of India on education, hospi...
Read MoreHemanta Pradhan writes for the Times of India on education, hospital issues, transport, agriculture & tribal affairs. He has been working as a journalist since 2011. He has a PG degree in Journalism & Mass Communication from Berhampur University. He has won Laadli Media Awards for gender sensitivity.
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