J&K Intern Doctors’ Indefinite Strike Enters Day 6: Medicos Demand Stipend Hike to ₹30,000, Warn of Fast-Unto-Death
Protesting medicos across GMCs and SKIMS express outrage over stagnant ₹400/day pay for 24-hour shifts; demand immediate formal notification instead of routine verbal assurances.
Translates to approx. ₹400/day; unchanged for nearly 7 years.
Seeking parity with counterparts in other states and UTs.
Medicos threaten relay fast-unto-death if orders are delayed.
JAMMU / SRINAGAR: The mass demonstration staged by MBBS and BDS intern doctors across government medical colleges in Jammu and Kashmir entered its sixth consecutive day on Saturday, as junior doctors remained steadfast in boycotting elective hospital assignments. Staging sit-in demonstrations from GMC Jammu and GMC Rajouri to SKIMS Medical College Bemina, GMC Srinagar, GMC Anantnag, GMC Baramulla, and GMC Doda, the interns warned that they will be forced to launch an indefinite hunger strike if the administration continues to stall their long-overdue stipend enhancement.
Holding banners reading “Same Work, Same Dedication, Fair Stipend” and “Save the Saviours,” the medicos lamented that their monthly compensation has been stagnating at an abysmal ₹12,300 per month—working out to roughly ₹400 per day—since 2017–18, which is lower than the daily wages paid to unskilled casual labourers.
“We manage emergency wings at 3 AM, work grueling 24-hour on-call shifts, and handle high-risk clinical duties in rural peripheries. To be paid ₹400 a day in this era of soaring inflation is an insult to our profession. We do not want empty verbal assurances anymore—we want an official government order.”
Glaring National Disparity: Where J&K Stands
Data compiled by the medicos demonstrates that Jammu and Kashmir sits near the bottom of national allowances for medical interns, despite comparable workload and rigorous training regimens:
Files Shuffled Between Departments: Red Tape Stalls 2023 Committee Report
Representatives from the All India Medical Students’ Association (AIMSA) and local student councils pointed out that a dedicated committee constituted by the Health & Medical Education (H&ME) Department had recommended in 2023 that the stipend be revised to around ₹25,000 to ₹26,300 for the academic year 2025–26.
Although the issue was repeatedly tabled during administrative reviews and legislative deliberations, the proposal remains ensnared in bureaucratic procedural delays. Protesters alleged they are repeatedly sent back and forth between the Health Department, Finance Department, and higher administrative offices without a definitive roadmap.
Government’s Stance: Matter Under Active Finance Review
Acknowledging the gravity of the crisis, Minister for Health and Medical Education Sakina Itoo recently reiterated that the administration is sympathetic to the rising living expenses of the doctors and views their demand as genuine. The Minister, however, pointed out that any upward revision entails recurring financial implications, with the proposal currently under thorough fiscal review by the Finance Department.
Authorities have simultaneously appealed to the junior doctors to call off their cease-work protest and resume hospital routines, emphasizing that prolonged absenteeism risks disrupting healthcare services for poor patients visiting government hospital OPDs and wards.
Unconvinced by verbal assurances alone, the intern doctors have resolved to maintain their dharna outside college premises, maintaining that the boycott will continue unabated until a formal government notification is officially issued.
