New Delhi - Thousands of doctors went on a strike across
several Indian cities Friday demanding better security after a junior
doctor was attacked in a Kolkata hospital leaving him with serious
head injuries.
Hospitals in West Bengal state, of which Kolkata is capital, were the
worst-hit as junior doctors who form the backbone of the health
services struck work and held protest marches, NDTV news channel
reported.
The agitation spread to Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad and Patna among
other cities where doctors struck work and held rallies.
The Indian Medical Association said 350,000 doctors had joined the
strike.
In most places emergency services continued to function, while
out-patient services were primarily affected. Long lines of patients
could be seen waiting at Delhi's All India Institute of Medical
Sciences (AIIMS).
In several hospitals like the SMS Hospital in Jaipur doctors wore
black bands and helmets to work.
Paribaha Mukhopadhyaya, a junior doctor at Kolkata's NRS Hospital was
attacked on Monday after a patient died, police said.
Family members alleged he had died due to negligence and accompanied
by a mob attacked and critically injured Mukhopadhyaya.
Five people in connection with the incident and investigations are
on, a spokesman for Kolkata Police said.
The protests snowballed after West Bengal chief minister Mamata
Banerjee said Thursday she would take severe action against the
doctors if they did not return to work.
Federal Health Minister Harsh Vardhan appealed to the doctors to end
their strike in the larger interests of society and hold symbolic
protests instead. The government was committed to their security, he
said in a Twitter post.