Worried about the worsening health of junior doctors who have been fasting for the last five days, West Bengal Governor CV Ananda Bose has urged them to call off their hunger strike, a source at Raj Bhavan reported today, Thursday, October 10, as per PTI.

The doctors, protesting to demand justice for Abhaya — the deceased doctor, had requested the governor's intervention when he visited a Durga Puja event yesterday, Wednesday evening, October 9.

Following the visit, Bose met with the protesting medics at their hunger strike venue in Dharmatala, assuring them that a peace meeting would soon be organised with all stakeholders to address their concerns.

"The governor is deeply concerned about the deteriorating health of the young doctors who have been fasting since Saturday. On behalf of the people of Bengal, the civil society of India, and as a father figure, he appealed to them to end the hunger strike," said the official.

Bose advised the junior doctors to continue their protests in a way that would not jeopardise their health.

"He has assured them that a peace meeting will be held with all relevant parties to devise an actionable plan to resolve the crisis. The date and venue for this meeting will be decided shortly," the source added.

During his conversation with the protesters, Bose stated, "The power of the people is greater than the people in power. Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere," according to the official.

The protesting medics presented a list of ten demands to the governor, urging him to find a permanent solution to their issues.

The junior doctors' demands include justice for the woman medic who was allegedly murdered at RG Kar Medical College; the immediate removal of Health Secretary NS Nigam; the establishment of a centralised referral system for hospitals; a bed vacancy monitoring system; and task forces to ensure essential facilities like CCTV, on-call rooms, and washrooms.

The doctors had initially halted work after the alleged rape and murder of their fellow medic at RG Kar Medical College on August 9. Their protest, which lasted 42 days, ended on September 21 after the state government assured them their demands would be addressed. Now, seven of them are on hunger strike since October 5.