Srinagar: Medical interns across Jammu and Kashmir have resumed their strike over the prolonged delay in revising their stipends, with the All India Medical Students’ Association (AIMSA) announcing candle marches at government medical colleges and SKIMS Medical College, Bemina, on Tuesday evening.
The renewed agitation follows weeks of waiting for a government decision that the association says was assured in writing on September 8. Interns were asked to wait 30 days, but the stipulated period passed without an implementation order, according to AIMSA.
The association said a delegation met Officer on Special Duty Peerzada Zahoor Ahmad on October 12, when another week was sought to resolve the issue. A subsequent meeting with the Director General of Finance at the Civil Secretariat on October 19 also failed to produce a decision, AIMSA said.
The dispute has now widened beyond the pending stipend revision, with the association alleging that its representatives were subjected to humiliating remarks during their interaction with the OSD. Dr Tasaduk, joint secretary of AIMSA, alleged that the officer said the government was doing interns a favour by providing free medical education.
AIMSA rejected the reported remark, arguing that publicly funded education is supported by taxpayers and cannot be used to dismiss the legitimate concerns of medical interns.
Association president Dr Mohammad Momin Khan said interns had shown patience by accepting repeated assurances and attending successive meetings, but the absence of a formal order had left them with little confidence that the issue would be resolved without further pressure.
The association said it respected government institutions and officials but expected medical interns to be treated with dignity. It has demanded that, if the stipend revision file is ready, the government issue the implementation order without further delay. [KNT]
