AIIMS doctors to hold hour-long protest over attacks on medicos

AIIMS, Resident Doctor's Association will organise a protest on Monday morning in solidarity with the Kolkata doctors who have been agitating following an alleged attack on a junior doctor in West Bengal's capital.

The protest will be organised in front of Jawaharlal Auditorium of the All India Institute Medical Sciences here and will commence at 8 am, a press statement by the doctors' body said.

"It has been decided to resort to a protest wherein patient care services will not be hampered to ensure that the backlog of patients including the patients affected by the strike, is addressed appropriately. A protest march shall be organized from 8 to 9 am on Monday morning in front of Jawaharlal Auditorium, AIIMS, New Delhi following which, we shall resume duties," it said.

Expressing concerns over what they called "situation of doctors" and AIIMS authorities in the statement said that they were in touch with the striking doctors in West Bengal. "We are hereby hopeful that the West Bengal administration considers demands of striking doctors and resolves the matter amicably at the earliest in the best interest of the people," the press release added.

Doctors associated with the body had on Friday met Union Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan with regard to the violence against doctors in Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee-led state and demanded security for their fraternity.

On Saturday, Banerjee accepted the protesting doctors' demands and promised to not invoke the stringent Essential Services Maintenance Act (ESMA) against them for not performing their duties and urged them to resume work immediately.

Indian Medical Association (IMA), country's largest medical body, will also hold a nationwide protest on Monday against the alleged attacks on doctors in West Bengal.

The doctors strike in West Bengal will enter the seventh day on Monday.

-ANI