City's medical interns seek an increase in monthly stipend

Every month, Vijay Bonde, 24, eagerly waits for the money order his father sends form Jawala Bazar, a village in Hingoli district of Maharashtra.

Every month, Vijay Bonde, 24, eagerly waits for the money order his father sends form Jawala Bazar, a village in Hingoli district of Maharashtra.

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However, the MBBS student who will soon begin his year-long internship, feels it is time that he stopped depending on his parents for his monthly expenses.

However, the Rs 2,550 monthly stipend given to medical interns in government hospitals offers him little hope of self-sufficiency.

On Wednesday, a team of medical students who will soon begin their internships at KEM, Sion and Nair hospitals, made a representation to Milind Mhaiskar, secretary, medical education and drug department, to increase the interns’ monthly stipend to Rs 13,000.

“My monthly expenses are more than Rs 6,000. Even if I cannot support my parents, I want to support myself in the internship period,” said Bonde, a student of Topiwala National Medical College at Bombay Central.

The interns have started a campaign on social networking site, Facebook, to discuss the issue and garner support.

“The internship is part of their basic curriculum which means they are not yet graduates. Still we will consider the representation on merit,” said Mhaiskar.