Interns protest at GMC, Patiala

Patiala, June 4

Demanding stipend, interns of the Government Medical College (GMC) held a protest outside the Covid ward of the Government Rajindra Hospital here today. These MBBS interns were shifted from Gian Sagar and Chintpurni Medical Colleges to the Patiala GMC.

Many interns posted at the isolation ward of the hospital said the government was not paying a single penny to them. They had cleared all professional exams and completed their degree from the Patiala GMC, interns added. Still they were treated as foreign students, said interns. Ironically, their counterparts, native students of the Patiala GMC, were getting Rs15,000 per month, said interns.

MBBS students of Gian Sagar and Chintpurni Medical Colleges were shifted to various government medical colleges after their institutions were closed while they were pursuing their degree.

Baba Farid University of Health Sciences (BFUHS) had nowhere mentioned while shifting MBBS students to other government medical colleges that they wouldn’t be given stipend, interns added.

“We make all out efforts to save lives of Covid patients. Moreover, we are continuously exposed to virus while treating patients. However, we are not getting even a single penny,” said a protesting intern.

“We are working as frontline workers in this unprecedented time of Covid crisis. Only thing we are asking for is equal treatment. The authorities are discriminatory and unjust towards us,” another protesting intern added.

After protest, interns handed over a letter highlighting their grievance to the Patiala MP, who was at Rajindra Hospital, to inaugurate the oxygen plant today.—TNS