235 intern doctors of BJ Medical College staged a protest on Tuesday at the premises of BJ Medical College and Sassoon General Hospital, demanding the payment of the stipend, which they haven’t received since April 5, 2025.
The intern doctors receive a stipend of ₹18,000 per month. The delay in payment of the stipend is rising as a critical concern and is causing significant financial distress, impacting their ability to meet basic living expenses.
On the condition of anonymity, an intern doctor said, “While we continue to serve diligently in our internship roles, the non-payment is causing a lot of financial distress. We urge the concerned authorities to prioritise this matter and ensure the timely disbursement of our stipends, as mandated by regulations and in recognition of our critical contributions to the healthcare system.”
“Following our action, the Dean provided us with written assurance that the pending stipends will be disbursed by Friday, July 18, 2025. We also urge appropriate action against the administrative officer Goroba Awate and the clerk Raman, responsible for this delay. The strike has been called off after the formal assurances from the Dean. However, we remain vigilant. If the payments are not disbursed by July 18, 2025, we, the interns, will have no choice but to resume our indefinite strike for our rightful dues,” said another intern doctor.
Meanwhile, speaking to The Free Press Journal, Dr. Eknath Pawar, Dean of BJ Medical College, said, “The payment will be done within a week. The delay in the payment has been caused by the interns’ side, as they did not submit the documents on time. We received their bank documents in the last week of May, and the payment will be made via online mode. Therefore, it will take a week’s time for processing and registering the documents. Once the details are submitted, the payment will be made. We also have a lot of procedures, like taking permissions from the treasury and approving them. If we had received the documents on time, it would have been completed. Also, the interns did not communicate this issue to higher-ups; they directly staged a protest."
