Medical interns in J-K restart agitation over stipend hike; allege government failed to honour assurance

Srinagar: Medical interns in Jammu and Kashmir on Tuesday resumed their strike over the government's failure to fulfil its commitment to increase their monthly stipend. The interns had gone on strike in September to press for a stipend hike. On September 8, the government had asked them to call off their agitation and give it a month to address their demands.

However, the interns said the deadline had passed without any resolution, prompting them to resume the strike on Tuesday. "The 30-day period -- it was actually they who asked us for a 30-day timeframe. Even back then, we demanded an order, and today as well, we are demanding an order. Back then, we negotiated based on trust; we thought we should trust them," medical intern Dr Faraz Ahmad told reporters here.

He said the minutes of the meeting, attended by Health Minister Sakina Masood Itoo, Srinagar Government Medical College Principal Dr Iffat and the Deputy Director of Planning, recorded that the matter would be finalised within 30 days. "Today is the 42nd day. Forty-two days have passed, yet the matter remains unresolved.

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Interns allege humiliation at OSD’s office

On top of that, we faced humiliation yesterday at the OSD's office in the Civil Secretariat. We had simply gone to ask about the status of our file," he said. Ahmad said interns across Jammu and Kashmir had decided to resume their agitation, with a strike call issued at every medical college and a candle march scheduled for Tuesday evening.

"Until the medical interns receive proper compensation and value for their work, we will not work, and this strike will continue," he said. On Monday, a delegation of interns met officials from the Health Department over the long-pending demand for a stipend hike for MBBS and BDS interns.

The delegation later alleged that they were subjected to humiliating remarks during the meeting. "Today, an intern delegation met the OSD to Health Minister Sakina Masood Itoo and the Director General of Finance over the long-pending stipend hike for MBBS/BDS interns of J-K. Instead of a concrete resolution, we were met with humiliating remarks.

Interns slam ‘free education’ remark

The OSD reportedly told us that the government was doing us a favour by providing free medical education," Mohammad Tasadduk Kawser, joint secretary of the All India Medical Students Association's J-K chapter, said in a post on X. Questioning the remarks, Kawser said public expenditure on medical education was funded by taxpayers and not a personal favour by ministers or bureaucrats.

"We earn our degrees through merit, sacrifice and relentless hard work," he said. Kawser said the interns had received a written assurance of a resolution within 30 days but had waited an additional week without an implementation order. He described the alleged remarks as an insult to the medical profession and demanded accountability from the authorities.

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"We will not trade our dignity for another hollow assurance. No more deadlines. No more empty words. We demand the order and its immediate implementation," he said. Kawser also criticised the OSD's conduct, alleging that it reflected a lack of accountability. Following Monday's meeting, the interns held a candlelight protest that night.