Aurangabad cancer hospital: Corona warriors distressed after not being paid for 6 months

The doctors claimed that they have not received their salaries for the last 6 months and they were even not paid the full bonus for their COVID duty. The resident doctors had to struggle financially due to the delay in payment as many of them are the sole bread earners of their families.

Akshay Kshirsagar, the president of Maharashtra Association of Resident Doctors (MARD) Aurangabad, told Medical Dialogues, " The salaries of the doctors working in GMC Aurangabad were pending since July 2021. It was after much persuasion, salaries for July and August were cleared in November 2021."

" The doctors of Cancer Hospital are paid Rs 64,000 per month but they have not been paid from September to February. Whenever we approach the authorities they only keep saying that central government is responsible for paying the doctors and nothing can be done unless they clear the fund", the doctor added. A total of Rs 1.21 lakh in remuneration was promised to the resident doctors who served in COVID wards during the pandemic but only half of it was paid in October, while the remaining half is awaited.

The doctors also approached GMCCH's officer on special duty Dr. Arvind Gaikwad who is currently responsible for distributing the salaries. " The Cancer Hospital is an autonomous institute now and still there is this kind of delay in releasing salaries. Some are saying that central government has already realized an amount of 2 crores and we will soon get our salaries, however, we will believe only after we get the salary officially", added the doctor.

GMC is the largest state-run cancer hospital in Maharashtra, which was inaugurated on September 21, 2012. It is a 165-bedded hospital having the status of a state cancer institute. The doctors are on the verge of a financial breakdown as well as a mental breakdown as they are facing difficulties in paying their bills without the payment of their dues.