SRINAGAR: The protest by veterinary interns at Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology-Kashmir (SKUAST-K), Shuhama, over their monthly stipend entered its ninth day on Tuesday, with the students intensifying their agitation.
The interns are demanding an increase in their monthly stipend from Rs 6,000 to Rs 23,000, saying the existing amount has remained unchanged since 2011 and is no longer sufficient to meet basic living and travel expenses associated with their internship.
The protesting students had earlier been assured of intervention by Agriculture Minister Javid Ahmad Dar.
Umar Ali, a fourth-year student at the Faculty of Veterinary Sciences and Animal Husbandry, said the stipend had been fixed at Rs 6,000 in 2011 and had not been revised despite a substantial rise in living and travel costs.
The interns have intensified their protest over the demand, with some students also participating in a hunger strike.
