RG Kar: Rain and rallies flood Kolkata

On Sunday, Kolkata returned to normal: protests demanding “justice” for the victim doctor from RG Kar Medical College were dispersed from all parts of the city, a day after the much-publicized talks between Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and the protesting junior doctors failed after three hours of negotiations via live streaming of the dialogue.

Two major rallies by the junior doctors started from two points and met at Central Park in Salt Lake before marching to the sit-in site and Swasthya Bhavan, while the former students, mostly women from a number of schools in central and north Kolkata, took part in rallies demanding ‘Justice for RG Kar’. Most notably, the former soldiers in the ranks of Brigadiers and Admirals of the Indian Navy also took part in a procession demanding justice for the victims and a safe environment for women.

“If a doctor is not safe in her hospital, which is her second home, then who is safe and where,” asks Major Samanta (retired), adding that he too is worried about his own daughter, who is currently pursuing management training.

“Think of this bad weather. There is deep depression not only in the sky but also in our minds. The problem is much bigger than we all think. If we cannot get justice to our abhaya (the doctor who is a victim), we are a failed society. Then why should we fund the police from taxpayers’ money,” said Dr Debashis Pramanik, one of the protesting doctors.

One doctor said: “The government is asking us to celebrate again… but what could be a greater celebration than getting wet in the rain for justice and for the future security of society for women.”

In a related development, Bengal state Health Minister Chandrima Bhattacharya refuted the junior doctors’ claims that she had expelled them from the chief minister’s residence. “The chief minister had summoned them for talks and how can I ask them to go… but due to the delays, the talks have come to nothing,” she said, adding, “The chief minister has already said that she has no problem in holding talks so that the doctors can resume their work.”