Now, face of R.G. Kar movement tenders resignation from medical facility

In a dramatic development at the state-run R.G. Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata, emergency medical officer Tapas Pramanik, who became a prominent face of the movement following the infamous R.G. Kar rape and murder case, has tendered his resignation from the health services, citing untenable working conditions and administrative apathy.

Pramanik is the second key figure linked to the R.G. Kar movement to step down this week, following the resignation of Akhtar Ali, the former deputy superintendent of R.G. Kar, renowned for exposing financial irregularities at the institution. Ali, whose last posting was at Kaliyaganj State General Hospital in Malda, attributed his resignation to continuous administrative vendetta after he voiced concerns about systemic financial malpractices affecting not just R.G. Kar but the wider healthcare system in the state.

In his resignation letter, dated 15 October, Pramanik detailed the unbearable working conditions that led to his decision. He lamented that his repeated requests to deploy specialist doctors from the medicine and chest departments in the hospital’s emergency wing, particularly during night shifts, were consistently ignored. Forced to rely on house staff and interns, Pramanik said the situation had become impossible to manage over the past year, taking a significant toll on his health and well-being.

“It has now become impossible to manage the situation, which has persisted for over a year. The continued failure of administration and excessive workload has taken a serious toll on my health and well-being,” Pramanik stated in his letter, reflecting the frustrations of a frontline doctor grappling with systemic inefficiencies.

Earlier, Akhtar Ali expressed similar sentiments to the media, describing his plight as helplessness in the face of a corrupt system. “I have reached the limit of my battle against the corrupt system. So I have decided to resign from my services. However, I will continue my fight against the corrupt healthcare system in the state,” Ali declared.

These resignations come against the backdrop of the multi-crore R.G. Kar financial irregularities case, which gained traction after Ali’s petition prompted the Calcutta High Court last year to direct a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe. The investigation led to the arrest of former principal Sandip Ghosh and others, all currently in judicial custody.

The departures of Pramanik and Ali underscore the persistent administrative failures and systemic challenges facing one of Kolkata’s premier medical institutions.

Observers note that their resignations not only highlight gaps in hospital management but also serve as a stark reminder of the difficulties faced by whistleblowers and frontline medical personnel striving to uphold integrity and patient care in the face of bureaucratic inertia.

With IANS inputs