Medical interns resume strike in J&K government hospitals over stipend hike

MBBS and BDS trainees are staging a protest in Jammu on Tuesday demanding an increase in their monthly stipend.

Hundreds of medical interns at government hospitals in Jammu and Kashmir went on strike on Tuesday (Oct 20, 2026) over the government’s alleged failure to implement a promised stipend hike despite a written assurance a month ago. They also claimed that officials tried to “intimidate the protesters”.

The interns resumed their strike a day after talks between their representatives and the government failed to resolve their demand for an increase in their monthly stipend from ₹12,300 to ₹30,000. The meeting was held with the Officer on Special Duty (OSD) with Health Minister Sakina Masood Itoo and Director General of Finance.

“Earlier we have seen ‘approval’ and ‘assurance’. This time the J&K MBBS (Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery) and BDS trainees will not call off the strike on verbal claims or media reports. We will end our agitation only after an official government order is issued and immediately implemented,” said Mohammad Tasadduk Kawser, joint secretary of the All Jammu Medical Association of Indian Kashmir Students Association. on X.

“Instead of a concrete resolution, we were met with humiliating remarks. The OSD allegedly told us that the government is doing us a favor by providing free medical education. Since when does public expenditure become someone’s personal charity? The money belongs to the tax payers of J&K, not to ministers or bureaucrats,” Mr Kawser said.

In September, Ms. Itoo asked the protesting interns to call off the strike, assuring them that their demands would be reviewed within a month.

“Thirty days of written assurances, another week of waiting, repeated meetings – and still no executive order. To call doctors beneficiaries of government largesse while dismissing their legitimate concerns is an affront to the entire medical profession. If the government cannot live up to its commitments, it must take responsibility for the consequences of its continued inaction. We will not trade our dignity for another hollow assurance,” he said.

Meanwhile, MBBS and BDS trainees staged protests at all government medical colleges in Jammu and Kashmir.

Published – 20 Oct 2026 17:06 IST