AIIMS Resident Doctors Urge President's Intervention in West Bengal Hunger Strike

The AIIMS Resident Doctors' Association appeals to the President of India for urgent intervention as a hunger strike in West Bengal escalates. The protest follows a resident doctor's tragic death and highlights unmet demands for safety reforms in healthcare. Five doctors are now critically ill in the ICU.

The Resident Doctors' Association (RDA) of AIIMS, New Delhi has penned an 'urgent' letter to the President of India, seeking intervention in a hunger strike by doctors in West Bengal. The protest was sparked after the brutal rape and murder of a resident doctor on August 9 at Kolkata's RG Kar Medical College and Hospital.

The letter emphasizes the dire condition of five protesting doctors now in the ICU due to the sustained strike. They demand justice for Dr. Abhaya and the implementation of Supreme Court-issued National Task Force (NTF) guidelines to enhance healthcare worker safety. Despite ongoing protests and the hunger strike, the West Bengal authorities have yet to act decisively, according to the RDA.

Appealing directly to the President, the RDA described the situation as 'critical,' asserting the doctors, vital to India's healthcare system, are jeopardizing their lives for justice and safer work conditions nationwide. The association urged prompt presidential intervention for West Bengal authorities to act, expedite the NTF guidelines, and fortify healthcare worker protections, aiming for immediate resolution and restored faith in the justice system.

(With inputs from agencies.)