Published : 17 Jun 2023, 09:13 PM
Updated : 17 Jun 2023, 09:13 PM
A group of physicians attending postgraduate residency programmes at Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University, or BSMMU, has sought the prime minister’s intervention to settle the standoff with the authorities over their pay.
On Tuesday, at least 500 physicians, who are not on the government payroll and are considered private physicians, launched a demonstration within the campus of Bangladesh’s lone medical university for increased allowances, timely payment and back pays.
As they aired their grievances about their “shocking” state of allowances, the demonstration was about to turn violent with a group of employees launching a counter-demonstration against the protesting private physicians.
The demonstrating doctors later said that deploying the non-medical personnel to face off against the physicians was a tactic used by the university’s Vice-Chancellor Dr Md Sharfuddin to drown out their voices.
On Saturday, some representatives of the demonstrators at a press conference in Dhaka went further with the allegations against the VC, claiming that Dr Sharfuddin made some baseless accusations against the protesters, such as ransacking portraits of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on the campus, and injuring a fellow doctor.
Bangladesh’s law considers desecrating and defaming the images of Bangabandhu, the country's founding father, as a criminal offence.
While reading out a written statement, Dr Benazir Belal Khan, one of the leaders of the movement, said some of the demonstrators captured the whole episode on video, and they can present it as evidence, which will show that the physicians were never involved in any subversive activities.
“With all respect to the VC sir, you have yet to release the name of the fellow doctor whom you alleged to be injured by the protesters,” said Dr Benazir.
The protesters demand Tk 50,000 monthly allowance, arguing that the current allowance of Tk 20,000 is not enough to maintain a basic living standard with the rising cost-of-living situation.
The doctors also alleged that payment of doctors not on the government payroll has been irregular and involves myriads of hassles during collection.
If their demands were not met by Jun 12, the doctors threatened to go on a nationwide strike the next day.
Later on Tuesday, some of the demonstrating physicians told bdnews24.com that they postponed their strike until Jun 15 after getting assurances from the Bangladesh College of Physicians and Surgeons officials to consider their demands after speaking to the government.
The VC, Md Sharfuddin, said the issue had been resolved, and the authorities will release the details in a press statement soon.
