Telangana AYUSH medicos’ strike enters 22nd day over stipend hike

The indefinite strike by house surgeons, postgraduate scholars and students of government AYUSH institutions in Telangana entered its 22nd day on Wednesday. The medicos are seeking a stipend hike and implementation of assurances made by authorities to revise their payments.

Hyderabad: The indefinite strike by house surgeons, postgraduate scholars, and students from government AYUSH institutions in Telangana entered its 22nd day on Wednesday, with the State health department continuing to ignore their demands.

Spearheaded by the Telangana AYUSH Joint Action Committee (JAC), the protests are focussed on addressing the pay gap and unfulfilled official assurances related to stipend revision. Representing five state-run AYUSH medical colleges, the house surgeons and PG scholars have been conducting protests in front of the AYUSH Commissionerate in Secunderabad.

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“The State government has so far not extended any assurance on addressing our issues. It is a clear indication that AYUSH as a stream of medical care and education does not matter,” said Dr Anurag Singh, vice-president, Telangana AYUSH JAC.

The Ayush medicos point out that while workloads in government hospitals remain comparable to allopathic counterparts, they receive significantly lower monthly stipends. Despite multiple representations, the medicos maintained that assurances to revise stipends made by authorities did not materialise.

Authorities indicated that a GO announcing raise in stipends will be released soon. “There has been an inordinate delay in the release of the promised GO and we will continue our protests till it is released,” the AYUSH medicos maintained.