Five-point demand: Intern doctors extend strike, announce sit-in

Intern doctors from all government and private medical colleges will continue their work stoppage for the next 48 hours starting today to press home their five-point demand, including restricting the use of the title "doctor" exclusively to MBBS and BDS degree holders.

The protest, which began on February 23, will also include a boycott of academic activities by the medical and dental students as part of their "academic shutdown".

Additionally, they have announced plans to stage a sit-in at the Directorate General of Health Services at 11:00am today.

Abdullah Al Noman, a student of Dhaka Medical College, and Tanmoy Hassan, a student of Sir Salimullah Medical College, declared the programme at the High Court Mazar Gate yesterday.

Intern doctors, along with medical and dental students, have been protesting since Sunday to push their five-point demand, disrupting treatments at various hospitals.

As per a previous announcement, several hundred students from different government and private medical and dental colleges in Dhaka gathered at Central Shaheed Minar yesterday. They then marched towards the High Court around 12:15pm.

After police blocked their path at the Mazar Gate, a group of protesters met the attorney general to request a swift resolution of a writ pending before the HC.

They explained that medical assistants filed the writ petition with the HC in 2013, seeking the right to use the "doctor" title. Despite legal restrictions, they alleged that medical assistants have been unlawfully using the title for the past 11 years while the case remained unresolved.

Abdullah Al Noman stated that the High Court completed hearing the writ petition yesterday and set March 12 to deliver a verdict.

"Setting a date for judgement [in the petition] is a preliminary victory for our movement. However, we will continue our protest until all our demands are met," he said.

They demand an updated OTC medicine list, restricted prescriptions to MBBS and BDS degree holders, recruitment of 10,000 doctors and 4,000-5,000 annually, a BCS age limit of 34, and the closure of substandard medical institutions.