Bihar MBBS Interns go on strike demanding stipend hike at par with IGIMS

Patna: Demanding a raise in the monthly stipend, the MBBS interns at the medical colleges in Bihar, including the Patna Medical College and Hospital and Nalanda Medical College and Hospital went on a strike on Thursday.

They want their stipend to be at par with those of their colleagues at Indira Gandhi Institute of Medical Sciences (IGIMS).

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There were around a hundred protesting interns at PMCH, carrying placards reading, "Healers should not get chillers', 'Kam hamara jyada hai, stipend phir bhi aadha gai' and 'One state, one stipend'. The protest also led to the closure of registration counters and OPD's, leading to inconveniences for the patients. The protesting interns held that their monthly stipend of Rs 15,000 was insufficient to meet even their necessary expenses, reports the Times of India.

He added that the demands of the interns were related to state government, and keeping in mind the larger interest of the patients, the hospital administration had requested them to withdraw the protest.

The medicos also protested near the emergency department at NMCH, and their protest also led to the closure of the OPD's. They said that their counterparts in Patna-based IGIMS receive a monthly stipend of Rs 27,000, whereas the others performing similar duty in other medical colleges are paid a lower monthly stipend, thus discriminating against them.

The protest song affected the patients visiting the hospital since it led to the closure of the registration counters and OPD services at the PMCH and NMCH.

Reports of interns protesting at other hospitals including SKMCH, Muzaffarpur, and Darbhanga Medical College and Hospital also emerged, reported TOI.