Doctors Strike Across Chhattisgarh: A Call for Enhanced Safety Measures

Over 4,500 doctors in Chhattisgarh joined a 24-hour strike to protest the rape and murder of a trainee doctor in Kolkata. Organized by the Indian Medical Association, the strike affected medical services statewide. Healthcare professionals demand government action for workplace safety and protection against violence.

More than 4,500 doctors in Chhattisgarh initiated a 24-hour strike on Saturday as part of a nationwide protest against the brutal rape and murder of a trainee doctor in Kolkata.

The protest, beginning at 6 am, led to the disruption of medical services, sparing only emergency cases in major hospitals throughout the state.

''As part of the nationwide protest orchestrated by the Indian Medical Association (IMA), over 4,500 government and private doctors have ceased their services statewide. Only emergency cases will be attended to until 6 am Sunday,'' stated Dr. Rakesh Gupta, president of IMA's Raipur branch.

Dr. Gupta emphasized, ''We urge the government to heed our demands and enact legislation that ensures protection for healthcare professionals against workplace violence.''

On Friday evening, members of various medical associations and students joined IMA Raipur in a candle march in Telibandha. Prior to the march, IMA Raipur delivered a demands memorandum addressed to the Governor to a district official, highlighting the need for a central law ensuring workplace safety for doctors.

Doctors and healthcare workers also organized sit-in protests outside hospitals in numerous locations across Chhattisgarh. Dr. Mukesh Kumar Hela, civil surgeon at Gariaband district hospital, declared the 24-hour ''symbolic strike'' as a push for justice in the Kolkata case and for improved security measures for healthcare workers to prevent future incidents nationwide.

(With inputs from agencies.)