JnK MBBS Interns Continue Protest after CM Approval to Rs 25,000 Stipend, Demand Written Order

Srinagar: In a latest development, Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah has approved an increase in the monthly stipend of MBBS and BDS interns from Rs 12,300 to Rs 25,000, nearly 42 days after the government assured that their demand would be addressed within a month.

Therefore, the government directed the Health and Medical Education Department to issue the necessary orders immediately.

However, the interns have said their strike, resumed on Tuesday over the delay in implementing the promised hike, will continue until the official written government order is issued.

Speaking to Medical Dialogues, Dr Mohammad Momin Khan, President of the All India Medical Students’ Association (AIMSA), said similar assurances were also made repeatedly in the past, but the delay in issuing the order left interns with no option but to continue their protest. “No Written Order, No End to the Strike,” he said.

AIMSA has announced that the protest by MBBS and BDS interns will continue today across all Government Medical Colleges (GMCs) in Jammu and Kashmir and SKIMS Medical College, Bemina, until the official written government order confirming the stipend hike is issued.

The interns had earlier gone on strike in September to demand an increase in their monthly stipend. On September 8, the government had asked them to call off their agitation and allow 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 PTI.

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. 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.

The medico 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.

Also read- JnK MBBS, BDS interns await stipend hike order, warn of hunger strike from October 10