Hyderabad: Over 600 FMG interns intensify agitation after 15 days without talks

Over 600 Foreign Medical Graduates (FMGs) undergoing compulsory internships in Telangana government hospitals intensified their 15-day-long agitation by staging a dharna outside the Directorate of Medical Education in Hyderabad.

Hyderabad: The statewide agitation by over 600 Foreign Medical Graduates (FMGs), who are undergoing Compulsory Rotatory Medical Internships (CRMI) in government hospitals in various parts of the State, entered its 15th day on Thursday.

With the State government not inviting them for talks, the protesting doctors intensified their protests by conducting a massive dharna in front of the Directorate of Medical Education (DME) office in Koti on Thursday. Tension prevailed at the DME campus where interns staged mass demonstrations and participated in a peaceful rally.

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The FMG interns alleged official apathy, discrimination, and intimidation by the state health administration.

Despite being posted in peripheral government hospitals, which are severely affected by staff shortages, FMG doctors said that they had not received fair treatment and had been met with closed doors and coercive threats.

The FMG interns, who are demanding an equal stipend to that paid to MBBS graduates, namely Rs 29,792 per month, expressed frustration over the refusal of senior health authorities to hold talks with them.

“Fifteen days of peaceful protest without a meaningful response is deeply disappointing. We are not demanding undue favours. We are seeking fair treatment, equal opportunities, and dignity after serving patients with the same dedication and responsibility as our peers,” FMG doctors said.

The FMG protesters alleged that senior health officials have threatened to cancel their mandatory internships in government medical colleges, a move they labelled as deeply discriminatory.