The tickling clock became the cynosure of all eyes during the press conference organised by junior doctors in Kolkata last night, Friday, October 4.
While junior doctors gathered around the mike and declared that though they had called off their cease-work, they had given the Government of West Bengal an ultimatum of 24 hours, within which, it needed to fulfil all their demands. The huge tickling clock, held up by one of the protesters, stood as a symbol of the time the state had.
If their demands are not met within 24 hours, they will call for a hunger strike.
The doctors reiterated that they had called off the cease-work keeping in mind that the state's healthcare infrastructure needed their services. "If our demands are not met within 24 hours, we will be forced to go on a hunger strike," said an agitating doctor.
Protests, cease-work, sit-in rally outside Swasthya Bhawan, talks with Mamata Banerjee at her residence in Kalighat, talks with the health secretary, Supreme Court's request that the protesting doctors get back to work — several events happened since August 9, the fateful day when a 31-year-old female doctor was raped and murdered at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital. This opened up a can of worms, revealing threat culture, financial irregularities at RG Kar, lack of safety and security measures for healthcare workers and so much more.
August 9 to October 5, its almost been two months and though the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has been probing the case, the Chief Justice of India (CJI) DY Chandrachud himself is hearing the suo-motu case, former Principal of RG Kar Dr Sandip Ghosh and his aides are in custody, junior doctors say that the safety issue still prevails.
A lot of time has passed but the ticking sounds a little louder, especially in these ongoing 24 hours, as all eyes are on the Government of West Bengal, will they or won't they listen to the protesting doctors, who represent the demands of most, if not all, doctors of the state.
The clock is ticking and it is ticking loudly.
