After 42 days on strike, junior doctors in West Bengal have decided to partially lift their strike. The decision came during a general body meeting on Thursday, with the strike due to end on Friday. Since the discovery of a female medical student's body on August 9, the junior doctors have been on strike. Doctors have been demonstrating for better hospital safety and justice for their colleague's death and rape. 

For the past nine days, doctors have staged a sit-in in front of Salt Lake City's Health Building. Meetings with Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and Chief Secretary Dr Manoj Pant took place this week, ending in the decision to suspend parts of the strike. However, the unrest is far from finished. One junior doctor declared, "We will continue the war as long as we guarantee our security."

On Thursday evening, the junior doctors held a press conference outside the health building, announcing that although protesters would resume emergency services in hospitals on Saturday, the protest would continue. On Friday at 3 p.m., doctors will march from Dharanmanch to the CGO Complex. 

Debashis Halder, speaking on behalf of the junior doctors, stated, "We will return to our individual universities following Friday's march and develop department-specific SOPs. We will only work in situations where it is strictly necessary." Halder observed that the doctors are willing to resume full-time work when required, but for the moment they would approach most of their tasks with caution.

The junior doctors have raised five key demands, ranging from hospital safety measures to justice for their colleague's death. Despite some progress in talks with the administration, they were disappointed during a meeting with Chief Secretary Pant on Wednesday. A demonstrator stated, "The chief secretary had not signed the meeting minutes, and we are still waiting for definite action from the state."

The doctors have recently received a letter from Health Secretary Narayan Swaroop Nigam explaining the state's actions to protect healthcare worker safety. These include creating a single hotline number and installing panic buttons at hospitals. Despite this, the demonstrators persist in their quest for justice, believing that more action is necessary.

Meanwhile the junior doctors said that they are going to offer medical assistance to flood-affected districts in South Bengal from Friday. At the same time, they intend to continue their rallies, demanding responsibility from the state government and the medical institutions implicated. 

On Thursday, doctors protested outside the West Bengal Medical Council headquarters in Salt Lake, citing a "culture of corruption" in the state's medical system. Arindam Bhattacharya, a member of the Joint Platform of Doctors, criticized  the Medical Council, stating that numerous officials are under investigation for engaging in illegal behavior and that the forum demanded that the current council to be disbanded and fresh elections to be held.

Security was tight during the demonstration, with a substantial police presence on hand to manage the situation. Tensions rose as a group of nine doctors entered the council building to make their demands, while those outside questioned the overwhelming police presence. 

The junior doctors have promised to continue their protests and, if necessary, to restart the strike in full force if the next Supreme Court hearing on the RG Kar Hospital issue does not grant their demands.