SRINAGAR: Patient services at several hospitals across Jammu and Kashmir were affected on Wednesday as MBBS and BDS interns continued their indefinite strike for the third consecutive day, seeking an increase in their monthly stipend.
Hundreds of interns held sit-in demonstrations and candlelight vigils at medical institutions across the Union Territory, demanding that the existing monthly stipend of Rs 12,000 be raised to Rs 30,000.
The protesting interns said the stipend had not been revised for seven years despite the workload, responsibilities and long duty hours involved in compulsory internship.
The ongoing strike has disrupted routine hospital services at several institutions, with the interns maintaining that they will continue their agitation until their demand for a substantial enhancement is addressed.
Aaqib Ali Khan, a final-year MBBS student at Government Medical College (GMC) Srinagar, told Kashmir Life that the protest would remain peaceful until the government takes a decision on the demand.
“The protest will continue peacefully until the government addresses our demand and provides the necessary financial concurrence to the committee-recommended proposal for enhancement of the stipend,” Khan said.
He said the interns hoped the administration would take a timely decision and resolve the matter through dialogue rather than allowing the protests to continue.
The agitation began on August 31 and entered its third day on Wednesday amid continued demands from interns for government intervention to restore normal hospital functioning.
