JJM medical college students denied stipend again

The tug of war between JJM Medical College Management and the state government over the payment of stipend to medical interns serving in District Chigateri General Hospital in the city has emerged again. Following the denial of stipend by the management, 104 medical interns have decided to launch agitation from October if the issue is not resolved.

Speaking to DH, Hemanth, one of the medical interns, said "We have already submitted a memorandum to Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai during his visit to the city recently and also to Medical Education Minister K Sudhakar urging them to resolve the issue at the earliest. Deputy Commissioner Mahantesh Bilagi promised to hold talks with the officials concerned to resolve the issue within five days. So, we would wait for five days. If the issue is not resolved, we would launch agitation without fail."

He said as many as 104 students selected under government quota did MBBS in JJM medical college run by Bapuji Educational Association. As per the norms, medical interns must be paid stipend of Rs 20,000 per month as they are serving in district Chigateri general hospital. But the management is asking the government to pay and the government is directing the management to pay it. "We are in a fix now. So, the government must find a permanent solution to it and ensure that such incidents are not repeated."

It may be mentioned here that the management paid stipend to postgraduate students and medical interns last year after the government intervened into the issue following a series of protests by students. This year, the management has denied to pay and asked the government to pay it.

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