Ujjain (Madhya Pradesh) [India], October 12 : Hundreds of Ayurveda intern doctors and students staged a protest and locked the main gates of the Govt Ayurveda Medical College and Hospital in Ujjain on Monday, demanding an increase in their monthly stipend from Rs 9,383 to Rs 21,500.
The intern doctors claimed that they have been staging a sit-in protest for the past seven days and they were compelled to take the step after their repeated representations to the government failed to elicit a written assurance. 
During their protest, they have raised slogans against the administration and organised a Sadbuddhi Yagna, a hunger strike and a blood donation drive. But as no decision was taken on their demands, the agitated students locked the gates of the college and hospital on Monday.
The closure of the hospital’s gates and suspension of outpatient department (OPD) and inpatient department (IPD) services caused inconvenience to patients, doctors and other healthcare staff.
The protesting students said BAMS (Bachelor of Ayurvedic Medicine and Surgery) interns perform duties similar to those of MBBS interns but receive a significantly lower stipend. They demanded that their monthly stipend be increased to Rs 21,500, citing that equal work should be compensated equally.

Dr Nandini Solanki, one of the protesting intern doctors, said, “We have been sitting on a peaceful protest for the past seven days. Since September 15, we have continuously submitted memorandums to the government, but we have received nothing except assurances. No written announcement has been made, and no official has come to meet us. We had not disrupted OPD services earlier, but as our demands remained unheard, we were forced to take this step today. Our main demand is to increase our stipend from Rs 9,383 to Rs 21,500. We will not withdraw the protest until we receive a written order confirming the revised stipend of Rs 21,500.”
Another protestor, Dr Pranjal Tiwari, said students from other colleges would also join the protest in Ujjain on October 15 if the government failed to issue a written order.

"We were protesting peacefully and had not caused inconvenience to patients. But our demands are still not being fulfilled, forcing us to take stricter steps. We will not reopen the OPD and other services until we receive a written order," Tiwari said.
Responding to concerns over the inconvenience caused to patients, Tiwari said the students had been raising the issue for a long time and had taken the decision after considerable deliberation.
“We have been submitting memorandums for a month, and the students are also facing difficulties as our academic year and internship are affected. We do not want to trouble anyone, but we have been forced to fight for our rights. If a written order is issued now, we will withdraw immediately,” she said.

Another protesting doctor, Dr Rashmi Sharma, said the students had continued their protest peacefully for seven days while keeping OPD services operational, but as their concern remained unheard, they would have to fight for themselves.
“We did not obstruct medical services or trouble patients. We continued the OPD while registering our protest, but no official or administrative representative came to meet us. We have been prioritising the welfare of patients, but if the concerns of intern doctors who care for patients are not addressed, we will have to fight for our rights ourselves,” Sharma said.
She added that the students would continue to keep the OPD closed until they received a written order on the stipend hike.