Overview
- Medical interns across Jammu and Kashmir launched an indefinite strike and staged dharnas on Monday, Aug 31, withdrawing services at GMC Srinagar, SKIMS Bemina and several other medical colleges.
- The interns say their current monthly stipend of ₹12,300 has not changed for years and they are demanding a formal increase to ₹30,000 along with a written government notification.
- A Health and Medical Education Department committee formed in June 2023 recommended raising the stipend to about ₹25,000 but the file has remained pending after the Finance Department sought further information.
- Protesters say they carry heavy clinical duties — emergency care, OPDs, wards, long night shifts and rural postings — and displayed charts showing J&K at the bottom of national stipend comparisons.
- Local political parties, the J&K Students Association and some legislators have urged Chief Minister Omar Abdullah to intervene while hospitals warn continued withdrawal of intern services could disrupt emergency and outpatient care.