Medical students of Amritsar college sell tea, fruits to mark protest against ‘meagre’ stipend

AMRITSAR Perturbed over meagre stipend, students and interns of Government Medical College (GMC), Amritsar, on Tuesday sold tea, sweets and fruits outside Guru Nanak

AMRITSAR Perturbed over meagre stipend, students and interns of Government Medical College (GMC), Amritsar, on Tuesday sold tea, sweets and fruits outside Guru Nanak Dev Hospital (GNDH) here as a mark of protest.

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Over 250 GMC students, supported by para-medical staff, gathered outside the hospital at 11am and raised slogans against the state government. The students also suspended their hospital duties to show their dismay.

While addressing the protest, president of Medical Student Association Dr Vaibhav Chawla said, “The interns of Punjab government medical colleges are paid ₹9,000 during their internship. For the last 10 years, state government has not increased the monthly stipend, which is one of the lowest in the country. The government, however, has increased the fee of the students twice in four years.”

“The minimum daily wage of a worker in Punjab is ₹325 but we earn mere ₹300. We decided to sell fruits, tea and sweets for a day to show government that a medical student can earn more than ₹300.”