Overview
- The strike by junior doctors, interns and super‑speciality trainees entered its tenth day on Wednesday with emergency services at government medical colleges suspended for a third consecutive day.
- Protesters are demanding a 30% stipend increase that they say has been pending since January 2026 along with changes to retirement and recruitment rules.
- The Andhra Pradesh government has rejected a large biannual hike and offered a package of smaller annual increases, including a 5% rise for interns from Jan. 1, 2026 and a 3% yearly increase thereafter and 3% for postgraduate and super‑speciality trainees.
- Hospitals report long outpatient waits and casualty wards run by nurses, senior faculty and assistant surgeons as disinfected emergency, maternal and paediatric care is strained and patients face four‑ to five‑hour delays.
- Doctors have staged rallies across the state and warned they will intensify the action if demands are not met, while officials say they are making temporary staffing arrangements and have not yet resumed substantive talks.