Mangaluru: The house surgeons and post-graduation students of Kasturba Medical College (KMC) have organised a protest in front of Wenlock Hospital urging the government to release their stipend which has been due since eight months, on Monday, October 22.
The protesters who have been serving at the district government Wenlock Hospital, Regional Advanced Paediatric Care Centre (RAPCC) and Lady Hoschen Hospital informed that they have not been paid stipend by the government of Karnataka from March 2018. They claimed that they are serving in the government hospitals around 12 hours a day and stipend is their sole source of income. Due to the delay, they said, they have not been able to pay EMI towards educational loans and also complete other monthly commitments.
Though 51 house surgeons who are pursuing one-year MBBS at KMC, Mangaluru and 38 doctors who are pursuing their post-graduation at KMC have not been paid their stipend, not all attended the protest. The protesters informed that if all house surgeons and post-graduation students decided to participate in the protest, the patients would suffer.
Plan to intensify stir in December
Ujwal Suvarna, a postgraduate student of KMC informed that they were forced to run from pillar to post in order to get their stipend. “Though we have placed our demands before Chief Minister of Karnataka and Health and Family Welfare Minister, no proper measures were taken so far to release our stipend. The reason for not releasing stipend is said to be an objection from the audit department as KMC is a private college. If students under the government quota in private colleges get a stipend for serving in the government hospitals in other parts of the state, why we are denied stipend,” he questioned.
He also cautioned that they will wait till the end of November and in case the government fails to clear the dues, then they would start an indefinite stir from December.
Superintendent of Wenlock Hospital H Rajeshwaridevi who came to the venue informed that she has already consulted Dakshina Kannada district Deputy Commissioner Sasikanth Senthil S and requested him to recommend to the state government to pay the stipend to the students.
