Lucknow: In Uttar Pradesh, MBBS interns of at least 14 districts have boycotted their hospital duties for the last four days to demand a higher stipend. In UP the intern doctors are getting Rs.12,000 per month as stipend which is the lowest across all the states. It is noteworthy that the medical interns in Karnataka are getting Rs.32,000 per month, Assam interns get Rs.30,000 per month, West Bengal & Odisha interns get Rs.28,000 per month, Delhi interns get Rs.26,300 per month while the ones in Bihar get Rs.20,000 per month.
An estimated 3,800 intern doctors across at least 16 government colleges have being protesting and demanding a stipend of Rs.30,000 per month. The intern doctors are saying that their present stipend is Rs.400 per day which is less than the wage of even “unskilled workers”. Interns of Uttar Pradesh University of Medical Sciences in Saifai of Etawah district have written a letter to the Vice Chancellor of University Dr. Prabhat Kumar Singh & UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath seeking justice. Dr. Prabhat Kumar Singh has clarified that the students those are protesting and not attending their duty will be marked as absent.
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Meanwhile the All India Medical Students Association has extended its support to the protesting interns and has written a letter to Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath and Uttar Pradesh Health Minister Brijesh Pathak seeking justice to the protesting interns. The Association has said that the demand of Rs.1000 per day which is Rs. 30000 per month to interns is appropriate. The Association warned that if the Uttar Pradesh government does not fulfil the interns demand a nation-wide protest will began. The Association justified the pay hike as UP has more work load than other states and hence the interns should be paid accordingly.