Kolkata, Oct 21 (IANS): The fast-unto-death protest by the junior doctors for their demands after the rape and murder of a fellow medico at the state-run R.G. Kar Medical College & Hospital here, marks its 17th day on Monday.

A crucial meeting of the protesters’ delegation with Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is scheduled to take place at the state Secretariat Nabanna later in the day.

Although the state government had earlier said that the withdrawal of the hunger strike would be the precondition for attending the meeting, West Bengal Junior Doctors’ Front (WBJDF), the umbrella body spearheading the movement on this issue, clearly said that they are not accepting this precondition and their delegation will be attending the meeting without the hunger strike being withdrawn.

All of 45 minutes have been allotted for the meeting.

Sayantani Ghosh Hazra, one of the junior doctors who had been participating in the hunger strike since the first day, said on Monday morning that the delegation will be going to attend the meeting with the Chief Minister with a positive mindset.

“All I want to say is that barring those who are on hunger strike, others are back to their medical services duties. So no one can say that the medical services are being hampered. So we are hopeful that ultimately our demands on this issue will be fulfilled,” she said.

Currently, a total of seven junior doctors are on hunger strike. Out of them, seven are the dais at Esplanade in Central Kolkata and one is at the campus of North Bengal Medical College & Hospital at Siliguri in Darjeeling district.

So far, six junior doctors who were participating in the hunger strike which started on the evening of October 5, had to be hospitalised following severe deterioration in their medical conditions.

The most contentious among the 10-point demands of the protesting junior doctors is the removal of the state Health Secretary Narayan Swarup Nigam. However, the Chief Minister, during her telephonic conversation with the junior doctors clearly said that fulfilment of this demand will not be possible from her end.