27-05-2025
Bengal govt. slapped us with punishment postings: doctors
Senior resident doctors, who were the face of R.G. Kar protests in West Bengal, accused the State government of slapping them with 'punishment postings' as a backlash for protesting against the government, on Tuesday. They cited the postings of doctors Debasish Haldar, Aniket Mahato, and Asfakullah Naiya, which were different from the places they had opted for during the counselling.
Dr. Haldar, a postgraduate from Medical College in Kolkata, had requested the West Bengal Health Department for a posting in the Department of Anaesthesiology at Howrah District Hospital. However, according to an official release, he was ordered to join the Gazole State General Hospital in Malda district.
Doctors alleged that the post to which Dr. Haldar was shifted did not exist before the counselling sessions, which were held at Swastha Bhawan (Health Department headquarters) on February 27, and was 'created' as a form of 'punishment'.
Dr. Mahato, a postgraduate in anaesthesiology at R.G. Kar, had opted to complete his senior residency at the same college but was posted to Raiganj Government Medical College and Hospital in Uttar Dinajpur district. 'I chose Howrah GH, and according to my rank, they allotted it to me. But after the lists were published, I saw that everyone got the postings of their choice except me. This can be a form of revenge,' he said.
Dr. Mahato questioned that if the Health Department had conducted transparent counselling processes and assigned postings accordingly, then why did the final lists not reflect the same? 'We do not mind going to any corner of the State to perform our duties as medical professionals, but the process should be transparent,' Dr. Mahato added.
Several doctors with a similar plight protested outside the State Health Department office in Salt Lake, waiting for answers from the Health Secretary Narayan Swaroop Nigam. Mr. Nigam told the doctors to file official complaints with the Health Department. He also refuted allegations of 'punishment postings'.
Indiscriminate postings
In a similar incident, on March 20, senior doctor Subarna Goswami, a Bengal-based senior physician and public health administrator who was vocal during the movement, was transferred from the post of Deputy Chief Medical Officer Health (CMOH)-II at Purba Bardhaman district to Superintendent at Darjeeling TB Hospital in North Bengal.
Dr. Goswami claimed that the transfer was a 'vindictive step by the administration,' while sources in the Health Department described it as 'routine.'
The series of transfers and postings have led to criticism within the State's medical fraternity.
