IMA launches three-day nationwide protest

New Delhi: The Indian Medical Association (IMA) launched a three-day nationwide protest from Friday to express solidarity with the doctors agitating against the attack on their colleagues in West Bengal and called for a strike on June 17 with withdrawal of non-essential health services.

The apex body of doctors in the country also renewed its demand for a central law to check violence against health care workers in hospitals and said it should have a provision for a minimum of seven-year jail sentence to violaters.

In view of the continued suffering of the resident doctors and repeated occurrence of such incidents without redressal, the IMA has decided to continue their protest on Saturday and Sunday as well, which will include wearing black badges, dharnas, peace marches and has requested support from all associations of the fraternity to join the agitation, it said.

In the wake of protests by the medical fraternity in support of agitating doctors in Kolkata, Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan Friday urged West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee to ensure an "amicable end" to the stir.

He also appealed to the agitating doctors, particularly in West Bengal, to hold symbolic protests and resume work so that patients do not suffer. See P4