Kolkata case

`Utsav' over but the sustained urban unrest shows no sign of ebbing. On Thursday, Laxmipuja is also over.A surge of people at the top-billed Pujas on all the festive days were also seen. The looming shadow of the protest that continues in the aftermath of the RG Kar Medical College and Hospital horror of August 9,2024 continues.Its a nagging reminder of the realities that dog our society. The affidavit before the SC with regard to infrastructure and security at the medical colleges and hospitals (the chief secretary,W.B. laid these down in his meeting with the doctors)has been scoffed by the doctors at the claims as a “lie”. An eyeball-to-eyeball confrontation over a bureaucrat is apparent. As of now the CBI has named only one person, in its chargesheet. The grisly crime with impunity is increasingly appear to be possible because of the morass of corruption and degradation the RG Kar institution had become over the years. The issue is that the Principal of RG Kar Medical College and Hospital could not have been running the facility like his fief without the backing of the health department whose boss is an IAS officer of the 1998 batch and reportedly is an electrical engineering educated at IIT Kanpur and was brought to the health department in May 2020, during the height of Covid-19 when the country was grappling with lockdown,medical oxygen supplies,hospital beds and Covid-19 vaccines. The sustained urban unrest shows no sign of ebbing -the `utsav' is over but the winter of discontent looms large. more  

Doctors express frustration with SC hearings, CBI probe as the protest has entered hunger strike. more  

Fear, threat, intimidation and corruption were some of the key features in the state run Kolkata based RG Kar Medical College and Hospital. Serious allegations regarding biomedical waste trafficking has also surfaced.Biomedical waste poses a great health hazard.The waste disappears at the source or in the course of transit to the CBWTF(common biomedical waste treatment facility). It was a crippling 42-day strike by Bengal’s junior doctors and triggered by the tragic death of a postgraduate female trainee at the state run RG Kar Medical College and Hospital. Safety, security and efficient functioning of healthcare professionals were under threat. more  

College of Medicine & Sagore Dutta Hospital has set a precedent by allocating `hospital funds' to scale up security without waiting for additional help from the state. College of Medicine & Sagore Dutta Hospital at B. T. Road, Kamarhati, Kolkata is a Government Medical College under Department of Health & Family Welfare, Government of West Bengal. The hospital had requisitioned 320 CCTV cameras, in addition to its existing 200-odd cameras. The hospital on its own has started installing 40 cameras from the available hospital budget.An official said locations for the rest of the cameras had been identified and the devices would be installed once they arrived from Swasthya Bhavan. This is one of the newest medical colleges in the city’s vicinity and the hospital has separate resting rooms for male and female doctors of almost all departments. The hospital is also working to install ACs and arrange for attached washrooms. Hospital officials have also sent suggestions to Swasthya Bhavan to add collapsible gates at each resting room and panic buttons inside. Swasthya Bhavan has started the process of procuring CCTV cameras for all hospitals. RG Kar horror: Junior doctors' demonstration outside Swasthya Bhavan continues."We will continue our agitation despite wanting to resume our work, but not until our demands are met," members of the protesting doctors' forum said, according to a news source. more  

Where is the rot ? more