GMC Bhopal: Protest enters Day 3, intern doctors stick to higher stipend demand, slam police ‘action’

BHOPAL: The protest for higher stipend by medical interns in Madhya Pradesh entered its third day on Wednesday, with the agitators slamming the alleged lathicharge and use of water cannons by the police on their colleagues two days ago. Senior resident doctors have also backed the protest, currently underway near the Kamala Park intersection here.

Such doctors at the government-run Gandhi Medical College (GMC), Bhopal , have announced a boycott of the OPD (outpatient department).

The intern doctors want their monthly stipend to be raised from the current Rs 14,337 to Rs 30,000. Intern doctor Abhishek Yadav of the state-run Chhindwara Institute of Medical College told PTI Videos in Bhopal that their counterparts in other states receive an average monthly stipend of nearly Rs 30,000.

He alleged that police resorted to lathicharge and used water cannons on medical interns during a peaceful protest on Monday, claiming that some doctors were injured. He said the intern doctors will immediately end their agitation if the government accepts their demand.

Madhav Sharma, an intern doctor from Bundelkhand Medical College in Sagar, said he would continue to protest along with his colleagues till their demands are met.

Another intern doctor, Anurag from GMC Bhopal, told PTI Videos that the government should respond positively to their demands and increase the stipend to Rs 30,000. He said that despite the protests, emergency services have continued, and peaceful demonstrations are being held on one side of the road, while traffic is flowing on the other.

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Interns pressing for stipend hike

Anurag said that the doctors have been pressing for a stipend increase for the past three years and have met officials and leaders several times in the past three months.

"For the past three months, we have been hearing that the stipend will be increased, but assurances alone will not suffice," he said.

For the first time, intern doctors from various government medical colleges in the state joined the protest in Bhopal on Wednesday, he said.

Referring to alleged police action on Monday, Anurag claimed that some doctors suffered eardrum injuries while others fractured hands during the protest. However, these claims could not be immediately independently confirmed.

"We will remain here until our demands are met. We will end the protest only if the government issues a written order or clearly states the date from which the stipend will be increased," said Anurag. Meanwhile, an official has said that a decision will be taken on the medical interns' demand soon after Chief Minister Mohan Yadav returns to the state capital in the evening.