"Rats In Hostel, Delayed Stipend": 8,000 Doctors On Strike In Maharashtra

Eight thousand resident doctors in Maharashtra are on an indefinite strike over appalling living conditions in hostels and low monthly stipends, which are often delayed by months. The protesting doctors said they have been demanding reforms for a long time but only got assurances from the government.

The doctors said the stipend they receive at the end of the month is less than what their UP and Bihar counterparts get. They said the poor living condition in the hostel compounded their misery. Junior female doctors claimed that rats roam around the hostel and five people have to live in one room and water is dripping from the ceiling of rooms.

The doctors claimed that the infrastructure is so poor that sometimes they have to sleep on beds assigned to patients. Maharashtra is reportedly the richest state in India as per GDP. The indefinite strike has raised concern that patients would be suffering because of the unavailability of doctors. However, they will continue to provide emergency services.

"We do not want to cause any trouble to the patients, but we are forced to do this. We have been raising our demands for a year. There are more doctors and less hostel rooms for them. The stipend is less than Bihar-UP-Delhi and sometimes there's a delay of four months. The government is saying they will credit it in two days, but two weeks have passed," Dr Abhijeet Helge, President of Maharashtra Association of Resident Doctors Central, said.

"Despite the distressing situation of resident doctors, the benefit of the doubt was always given to the authority, and we entrusted them to do the right thing promptly to ensure the welfare of Resident doctors. However, regardless of our innumerable pleas, it seems our genuine concerns have fallen on deaf ears. Having been pushed to the limit by the cruel disregard towards the resident doctor's legitimate demands, we, the Representative Body of the Resident doctors are left with no choice but to go on a pan-Maharashtra indefinite strike," Dr Helge said earlier.

A resident doctor raised similar concerns and said, "Rats roam in the hostel room and sometimes one has to sleep on the patient's bed. Someone took a loan to get married, and some have children because we received our stipend late. Tell me how to manage in such a situation. We have been raising demands for one year. The doctors themselves are falling ill."

The resident doctors have written a letter to the Health Minister over their demands and a meeting also took place. The protesting doctors spoke to Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar over the phone too. It is believed there will be a consensus over the issues, but it is not certain when. Resident doctors are holding the government directly responsible for the lack of care for patients.