BMC concedes to demands after two-year struggle by civic hospital doctors; stipend hikes and temporary hostel space on the horizon
Resident doctors across all BMC facilities were on a silent protest this month, with black ribbons on their arms. File pic
Resident doctors of Sion hospital will receive a breakfast allowance of Rs 1,250, reinstated after a two-year hiatus. This decision is part of several assurances made by BMC officials to resident doctors across all four of its medical colleges, following their threat of a mass leave starting Monday.
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One of the foremost demands of the doctors was an increase in their stipend by Rs 10,000, raising their total monthly remuneration to about Rs 90,000. “The demand has been accepted, and the proposal has been sent and cleared. The stipend should be credited in August, and pending arrears for the previous five months shall be credited,” a statement from the Maharashtra Association of Resident Doctors says.
Dr Akshay More, head of Sion Hospital’s Association of Resident Doctors, said the administration has assured that a circular in this regard will be issued on Monday. “If we do not see any changes by August 10, we will again have to consider restarting our agitation,” he said.
Regarding the breakfast allowance, he said, “Only Sion hospital residents were not provided with a breakfast allowance. We were told there were administrative reasons for it. They have promised us reimbursement of the missed amount.”
Furthermore, civic officials have promised the residents temporary hostel space, acknowledging the overcrowding at the existing facilities. “We were told a school would be provided as the temporary hostel space,” Dr More said. Officials remained unavailable for comment.
For most of the month, the resident doctors were seen wearing black armbands while on duty as a sign of protest. The approximately 2,500 resident doctors had declared a mass leave starting July 22 if the BMC remained unresponsive to their demands.
Rs 1,250
Cost of breakfast allowance
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