Telangana’s AYUSH PGs and House Surgeons enter 11th day of indefinite strike over stipends

Around 1,000 AYUSH house surgeons and PG scholars in Telangana have been on an indefinite strike for 11 days, demanding stipend parity, arrears from January 2026 and timely salaries. UG students have also joined the protest in their support.

Hyderabad: At the entrance of the Dr. B.R.K.R. Government Ayurvedic Medical College in Erragadda, the oldest Ayurvedic hospital in Telangana, the white coats tell a story of exhaustion.

Friday marked the 11th day of an indefinite strike by the Telangana AYUSH Joint Action Committee (AYUSH-JAC) for hike in their stipends, yet the silence from the State government remains deafening.

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About 1000 house surgeons and PG Ayurvedic scholars have stepped away from their routine work including inpatient duties and in their support, the UG AYUSH students too have joined the indefinite strike.

“The stipends for Allopathy students was revised eight times in last 15 years but for AYUSH house surgeons and PG scholars, it was done thrice. The gap is stark. Our demands at just, but the State government is least bothered to listen to us,” says Dr Anurag Singh, vice-president, Telangana State Ayurveda Pg and House Surgeons Association.

Allopathy PGs receive between Rs 67,032 and Rs 74,782, whereas AYUSH PGs earn a meager Rs 30,947 to Rs 34,385. For House Surgeons and interns, the contrast is even sharper, with AYUSH doctors drawing only Rs 13,754 compared to Rs 29,792 for Allopathy.
Neighboring Andhra Pradesh pays its AYUSH interns Rs 25,906 and PGs up to Rs 64,767, while states like Delhi and Uttar Pradesh cross Rs 95,000.

“We spend our days healing patients, but who heals our mental exhaustion? We have made numerous representations but nobody bothered to listen to our plight,” says president, Dr Rajesh Kalyan.

The striking doctors demand immediate stipend parity with arrears from January 1, 2026, and a streamlined ‘Green Channel’ to end persistent monthly salary delays. As the strike continues, the young AYUSH practitioners have maintained that they are not fighting for charity but for justice.