Five students of the Calcutta Medical College and Hospital are going ahead with their hunger strike demanding that the students’ union election be held on December 22, as announced earlier.
The hunger strike started at 10am on Thursday.
The students had kept the medical college’s principal and other senior officials and doctors confined in a room between Monday afternoon and early on Wednesday.
On Friday, the principal spoke with the protesting students. “We will keep talking to them. There will be no delay in admitting the students to the hospital if anyone falls ill. There are doctors present around the clock. The students can seek their help any time,” said Indranil Biswas, principal of the medical college.
The students have, however, refused to seek help from senior doctors. They alleged that some of doctors had assaulted one of them. “We will not take any help from those who assaulted us,” said Aniket Kar, a protesting student.
No students’ union poll has been held at the medical college after 2016. The students shared a notice by the college authorities stating that the election would be held on December 22.
Biswas told The Telegraph on Tuesday that the state finance department’s nod was needed for the poll.
“The poll expenses are borne by the government. I have been told that at a time when the state is taking austerity measures, expenses on the students’ union election may not be allowed. I have written to the government for permission to hold the election,” he said.
Sudipto Roy, chairperson of the hospital’s patients welfare society, said on Friday that patient services had not been impacted by the hunger strike.
