PUDUCHERRY: In response to the RG Kar Medical College incident, the medical and paramedical fraternity comprising residents, students, and faculty members from various institutions, came together today in a powerful display of solidarity at a rally on Beach Road.
The rally which started at Dupleix Statue and concluded at the Chief Secretariat, was organized to express deep concerns and demand justice for the victim at RG Kar Medical College, Kolkata and ensure the safety of professionals dedicated to saving lives.
The protest was spearheaded by the Faculty of Indira Gandhi Medical College Association (FIGMA) and the Students of Indira Gandhi Medical College Association (SIGMA), with strong support from JIPMER and other medical colleges in the region.
The participants included resident doctors, faculty, nurses, and medical students from different medical institutions in the region.
In the rally participants from Indira Gandhi Medical College, JIPMER, Pondicherry Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS), Mahatma Gandhi Postgraduate Institute of Dental Sciences and Sri Manakula Vinayagar Medical College and Hospital marched and raised slogans in support of their demands.
Their demands include a transparent investigation of the RG Kar murder, implementation of the Central Protection Act for Workplace safety, and seeking justice for vandalism against peaceful protesters in Kolkata.
During the rally, a skit on 'lack of safety for women in the workplace' was enacted by the students in Rock Beach, Pondicherry, in front of the public masses, to continue the strike for the greater cause.
The rally organisers and participants expressed their deepest condolences to the family, friends, and colleagues of the second-year female postgraduate resident in chest medicine at RG Kar Medical College who was brutally sexually assaulted and murdered, while on duty at the college on August 9. They condemned the heinous crime in the strongest terms and emphasised the urgent need for justice.
The rally in Puducherry is part of a broader movement within the medical community, calling for urgent reforms and increased protection for healthcare workers.
Meanwhile, the ongoing indefinite strike in JIPMER by resident doctors in solidarity with Kolkata entered the seventh day with resident doctors and students donating blood for a genuine cause of the protest: Bleed for Justice.
Besides intriguing speeches by resident doctors and students on the social evil of harassment and lack of women's safety in society and ways to address the same. Pamphlets were distributed among the public in the wards and OPDs of RCC and other emergency services to enlighten them on the motive of the strike.
Students of Dr B R Ambedkar Government Law College held a demonstration seeking justice for the Kolkata doctor.