RG Kar Case: Protesting Doctors’ Hunger Strike Enters 3rd Day

by Pabitra Mohan Senapaty

NEWS HIGHLIGHTS

The fast-unto-death protest of six junior doctors at Esplanade in Kolkata, over the rape and murder of their colleague in the state-run R.G. Kar Medical College Hospital entered the third day on Monday.

Kolkata, Oct 7: The fast-unto-death protest of six junior doctors at Esplanade in Kolkata, over the rape and murder of their colleague in the state-run R.G. Kar Medical College Hospital entered the third day on Monday.

On Sunday night, one more junior doctor joined the other six who volunteered to start the hunger strike on October 4 evening.

The seventh doctor to join the hunger strike is Aniket Mahato from R.G. Kar.

Mahato has also explained the logic behind his decision to join the fast-unto-death agitation.

“Since six of our colleagues from different medical colleges & hospitals volunteered to begin the hunger strike, some people had been questioning why no one from R.G. Kar was among those six. Probably, they forgot that the plight of the junior doctors because of the existing ‘threat culture’ is not just limited to R.G. Kar. That is why those raising the question tried to create confusion among people,” said Mahato.

On Sunday night, two junior doctors from R.G. Kar, namely Mahato and Ashfaqulla Nair, reached the hunger-strike venue and initially, it appeared that both would join the hunger-strike. But later after discussions it was decided that Mahato would be joining the fast-unto-death for the time being.

The six junior doctors who volunteered to begin the hunger strike on Saturday evening were Pulastya Acharya from N.R.S. Medical College & Hospital, Tanaya Panja, Snighdha Hazra and Anustup Mukhopadhyay from Calcutta Medical College & Hospital, Sayantani Ghosh Hazra from K.P.C Medical College & Hospital and Arnab Mukhopadhyay from S.S.K.M Medical College & Hospital.

The protest is unique in the sense that while these seven junior doctors are in fast-unto-death agitation, their colleagues have gone back to their assignments of rendering medical services, withdrawing their cease-work agitation.

Meanwhile, a team of 15 senior doctors reached the venue of the hunger strike on Monday morning to express solidarity towards their junior colleges. According to them, they will also be on hunger strike for the next 24 hours as an expression of solidarity towards the protesting junior doctors.

The protesting juniors have already installed CCTV at the venue of their hunger strike for the sake of transparency. At the same time, instead of waiting for the permission of the Kolkata Police, the protesting junior doctors have also set up two separate bio-toilets near the protest venue, one for the female protesters and one for their male counterparts.

--IANS

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Chennai Airshow Deaths Due To Excessive Heat, Says TN Minister

by Shambhu Datta Mishra

Chennai, Oct 7: Tamil Nadu Health Minister Ma Subramanian Monday said the deaths that occurred after the Indian Air Force airshow were due to scorching heat and not because of any management issues.

In a statement, the Minister said, “The government has not said that there were no deaths...There is no need to politicise the issue."

Ma Subramanian also said the deaths were not due to negligence on the part of the government and added that the deaths were due to excessive heat and exhaustion. He added that the state police had provided adequate security to the event and had deployed 6,500 cops and 1,500 Home Guard volunteers.

The Minister in the statement also said that 40 ambulances and paramedics were deployed for the event. He further said, “The heat was unbearable and people could not handle the heat.”

Ma Subramanian said the Indian Air Force had clearly warned the people attending the airshow that the temperature was expected to be high. He said the Air Force had directed people attending the show to carry water bottles, wear hats and sunglasses during the event.

He said the government had made proper arrangements for toilets, drinking water and medical facilities. The Minister added that it was a big achievement to conduct such a huge programme with almost 15 lakh people attending the airshow.

The Health Minister in the statement said that seven people were admitted to hospitals and five lost their lives. He said that 43 people were brought to the Rajiv Gandhi Government hospital in Chennai of which one was brought dead. Two were admitted to the hospital and 40 were treated as outpatients.

He said that 49 people were brought to the Omandurar government medical college and hospital and added that of these two were brought dead. One was admitted to the hospital and 46 were treated as outpatients.

Ma Subramanian said that two people were brought dead at the Royapettah government hospital and one was undergoing treatment.

(IANS)

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Rajkummar Rao, Patralekhaa Mourn Loss Of ‘Gaga’

by Pabitra Mohan Senapaty

Mumbai, Oct 7: Bollywood couple Rajkummar Rao and Patralekhaa have expressed their grief over losing their pet dog Gaga, whom they tagged as their “anchor and baby”.

Rajkummar and Patralekhaa took to Instagram, where they shared a post featuring a slew of images and moments they shared with Gaga, their Yorkie. The photographs had Gaga looking adorable with hair clips, the actors lovingly holding her in their arms and even playing with their four-legged furry friend.

“Gaga , our angel our anchor our baby…Thank you for the most beautiful years. You guided us grounded us through happiness & through deep sorrows, through sadness & through laughters .Thank you for looking after us,” the post was captioned.

The caption further read: “Mummy Papa will miss you the most. Please meet us in every life time. You will always be our most precious baby. We Love You. Om Shanti.”

Bollywood actor Vijay Varma sent in his condolence for the star couple over their loss and wrote: “Oh no. Sorry to hear.. big hug to you both.”

On the work front, Rajkummar will next be seen along with Triptii Dimri in the upcoming film “Vicky Vidya Ka Woh Wala Video”, which also stars Mallika Sherawat, Rakesh Bedi and Vijay Raaz.

The film follows the story of a couple who decide to film their first night as a souvenir. It all seems fine until the CD in which they stored their video gets stolen along with the CD player.

Rajkummar, who is currently basking in the success of his latest release “Stree 2”, in August shared the first look from his next action thriller film “Maalik,” which is directed by Pulkit, who has previously helmed "Dedh Beegha Zameen", "Bose: Dead/Alive" and "Bhakshak".

This will be the first time Rajkummar will be seen playing the role of a gangster in an action thriller. The film shoot is now in progress, with an extensive schedule planned across various locations in India.

“Maalik” is produced by Kumar Taurani under the Tips Films banner and Jay Shewakramani's Northern Lights Films.

Meanwhile his wife Patralekhaa, was last seen in “IC 814: The Kandahar Hijack”, a crime thriller drama mini series about the hijacking of Indian Airlines Flight 814 in 1999.

--IANS

RG Kar Case: Protesting Doctors’ Hunger Strike Enters 3rd Day

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