WB: Siliguri hospital services hit after workers stage protests

The health services in the North Bengal Medical College and Hospital (NBMCH) in Siliguri here were severely hit after the hospital's contractual workers staged a protest over payment issues on Monday.

The patients were forced to wait in long queues outside the counters for their treatments, alleging that they were not getting their services on time.

Speaking to ANI, Koushik Samajdar, Medical Superintendent of NBMCH, said: "The contractual workers had started a demonstration outside the office. We have informed the agency about the situation, and they will further negotiate with the workers."

Samajdar further stated that though a big problem was not caused due to the protest, the services of the hospital will definitely be affected.

A patient, Abed Hussain, said that the patients were in a desperate situation as only one counter is open to a huge number of people seeking medical help.

"It is creating a major discomfort to us as we are old men, who are relying on the help of our children. We have been standing here from early morning, yet we have not been able to get a ticket," he said.

The contractual workers have alleged that the administration of the hospital is paying extremely low wages in comparison to the permanent staff of the hospital, stating that the hospital is refusing to follow the law of 'Equal Work for Equal Pay'.