Maha govt medical interns threaten stir from May 2

The interns of the Government Medical Colleges across Maharashtra are planning to launch an indefinite strike from May 2 to seek to resolve their long pending demand for a hike in their stipend,their association said.

There are 2,000 interns working at 18 government medical colleges across the state and they are given a meager sum of Rs 2,550 per month as stipend,said Gururaj Tammewar,president,Association of State Medical Interns (ASMI). “We have been demanding a proportionate hike in our stipend and have organised various methods of agitation till now,” ASMI Secretary Vijay Katare said,”but all our pleas have fallen on deaf ears.”

As per the Medical Council of India’s norms,an intern must be paid a stipend equal to 50 per cent of the monthly salary of a resident doctor. “The resident doctors in Maharashtra are getting a monthly salary of over Rs 25,000 and hence the interns are eligible for its half as stipend,” he said.