Medical interns from across Madhya Pradesh staged a road blockade and sit-in protest in Bhopal on Tuesday, demanding that their monthly stipend be increased from Rs 14,337 to Rs 30,000 and seeking compensation for colleagues allegedly injured during police action a day earlier.
The interns gathered in the Kamla Park area and blocked traffic as they renewed their demand for a higher stipend. They also sought Rs 1.5 lakh compensation for those injured during Monday’s protest and action against police personnel allegedly involved in the incident.
The protest began on Monday at the gate of the government-run Hamidia Hospital, where police used water cannons to disperse the interns. Some protesters were allegedly injured.
According to the interns’ delegation, Madhya Pradesh has 3,655 MBBS interns across government and private medical colleges, including 2,055 in government institutions. They said the annual MBBS course fee is around Rs 1 lakh, while interns receive a monthly stipend of Rs 14,337.
The protesters said interns in Tamil Nadu, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Odisha, Gujarat and Rajasthan receive higher stipends despite comparatively lower fees in some of these states.
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