NEW DELHI, June 15 (Xinhua) -- The strike of doctors in India's eastern state of West Bengal on Saturday entered the fifth straight day as local government's efforts to woo them back could not materialize, officials said.
With protesting doctors refusing to join the duties, health services in the government-run hospitals are remaining the worst-hit.
"With the strike of junior doctors healthcare is affected in at least 13 big government hospitals here," a senior local government official from the health department in Kolkata said. "The efforts from the government to end the impasse are yet to bring out desired results."
The striking doctors are getting support from the fellow colleagues in other parts of the country including Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Chandigarh, Kerala, Bhopal, Odisha and Jharkhand.
On Friday, the striking doctors refused to meet the West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee following her invitation to them to break the stand-off.
"The doctors refused to meet the chief minister, demanding an unconditional apology from chief minister and action against those who attacked the doctor on duty," the official said. "They also put up six conditions for withdrawal of their strike."
On Thursday, Banerjee issued an ultimatum to the doctors to return to the duty. She also blamed opposition party Communist Party of India-Marxist and Bhartiya Janta Party for the strike. The posturing of Banerjee worsened the situation and met open defiance.
Reports said nearly 300 doctors resigned from the government hospitals in West Bengal on Friday amid protest. The agitation began from Kolkata's NRS hospital where a junior doctor was allegedly assaulted by the relatives of a patient who had died. The doctor suffered a head injury.
The doctors in other parts of the country also staged protests in solidarity with the doctors of West Bengal. The Indian Medical Association (IMA) directed its members in all its state branches to stage protests and wear black badges on Friday as a mark of solidarity with the striking doctors in West Bengal.
Meanwhile, doctors at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in New Delhi Saturday again were seen treating patients wearing helmets and donning bandages on their foreheads as a symbol of solidarity with the doctor that was attacked in West Bengal.
Many doctors at several government hospitals here, who could not join nationwide strike on Friday, staged protests on Saturday. Reports said doctors at the government-run Lady Hardinge Medical College and Hospital, RML Hospital and Delhi government facilities such as Sanjay Gandhi Memorial Hospital and DDU Hospital, boycotted the work and held protests.
The AIIMS Resident Doctors' Association issued a 48-hour ultimatum to the West Bengal government to end the stalemate, failing which they also would join the indefinite strike.
"All resident doctors are back to work but we will continue with symbolic protest by wearing black badges, bandages and helmets. If condition worsens we will go on indefinite strike from June 17," President of Resident Doctors' Association at AIIMS Amrinder Singh Malhi told media.
Indian Health Minister Harsh Vardhan on Friday urged the doctors across the country "to end the strike" and appealed to Banerjee "not make this a prestige issue."
West Bengal Governor Keshari Nath Tripathi Friday night said he called on Banarjee to discuss the issue but there was "no response" from her side.
Meanwhile, a senior government official on condition of anonymity said the efforts to end the strike were underway.
"The option of talks is still open and we are hopeful we will be able to bring the striking doctors on the table to break the ice," the official said.
Reports said Banerjee is likely to visit the injured doctor on Saturday.
