Medical interns call off strike

Medical interns called off their strike on Sunday after receiving an assurance from State Medical Education Minister Vijay Kumar Gavit that their demands will be looked into in the coming months.

"We had a telephonic conversation with Gavit today. He assured us our demands would be looked into and said the stipend would be comparable to other states. We have called off the strike. Interns will return to work from Monday," said Dr Snehal Chavan of the Association of State Medical Interns.

"We also got an assurance of support from NCP youth leader Niranjan Davkhare that he will take up our case with the government and that it will be resolved in three months," Chavan said.

Last Monday, around 750 medical interns in the five medical colleges went on a strike demanding higher stipend. Interns are paid Rs 2,500 a month and are asking for a stipend hike which will earn them Rs 13,000 a month — an amount that is comparable with what interns make in many other states. They also sought an assurance of an annual increment of around Rs 1,000 from the government.

"We made an appeal to interns as the patients were suffering and they accepted our request. We told that that we have now realised their problems and that the government will look at them sympathetically. As such we cannot give an assurance on how much more money the interns can get as only the Cabinet has the authority to decide about it," said Pravin Shingare, deputy director, Directorate of Medical Education and Research.

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