Increase in Stipend to 50,000 pm; Removal of Bank guarantee in PG- IGMC doctors on pen-down strike
Shimla: Doctors of Resident Doctors Association on Monday observed two hours "pen-down strike" outside the Indira Gandhi Medical College and Hospital in Shimla while protesting against the bank guarantee policy as well as demanding a higher stipend.
In an efforts to prevent doctors from joining private hospitals, the Himachal Pradesh government has made it mandatory for the MBBS doctors, who wanted to pursue higher courses like MD/MS, to submit a bank guarantee of Rs 10 lakh until now.
Recently, the government has reduced the bank guarantee to Rs 5 lakh.
Read Also: Rejoice: HP reduces PG Medical Bond money from Rs 10 lakh to Rs 5 lakh
Announcement to this effect was made by CM Thakur who while Speaking in the state assembly on the third day of the ongoing budget session, said the state cabinet decided to reduce bank guarantee by half in its Tuesday meeting.
Intervening to a supplementary query raised by CPI (M) member Rakesh Singha, regarding relaxing the norms of bond policy for PG doctors during the question hour, CM Thakur said that decision to reduce bank guarantee from Rs 10 lakh to Rs 5 lakh has taken to encourage the doctors to pursue PG courses, moreover the condition of bond had been made more stringent.
However, even the reduction has not gone well with the doctors, who have demanded complete removal of the bank guarantee.
Resident doctors of state medical colleges have been protesting against the bank guarantee policy since long. The state government had resorted to this stringent policy in order to prevent brain drain from the state.
Over 100 doctors are demanding the complete removal of bank guarantee bond condition laid by the health department of the state.
In addition to that, the doctors are also demanding to increase their stipend from Rs 35,000 to Rs 50,000.
During the protest, the doctors were seen making people aware of Swine Flu by holding placards. The doctors also donated blood at the hospital.
