On Monday, The president of National Students Union of India (NSUI) Neeraj Kundan wrote a letter to Mr. Manoj Sinha, the Lieutenant Governer of Jammu and Kashmir requesting to increase the stipend of Medical interns upto atleast 22,000 Rs. Per month.
In the letter, NSUI president highlighted the issue that medical interns are serving as frontline workers in the pandemic risking their own lives. But still they are left out to be considered as a part of them and remain unpaid without any incentives or stipends.
The Stipend provided to medical interns in the Jammu and kashmir UT is very less as compared to any other state or Union territory. As per the latest guidelines lines from centre, Medical interns of final year are provided with a stipend boost when serving in COVID-19 wards and screening sections.
Still the interns for J&K are kept out from this policy and are paid only 12000 rs. Per month in Government colleges and 6000 rs. Per month from private colleges. While in other UTs, the stipend is much higher like 23,500 Rs./month in delhi and 18,000 Rs./month in chandigarh.
Many Interns are placed in the tertiary care centers and COVID-19 specialised hospitals. Interns are also working in Oxygen plants and night shifts just to ensure that their is no occurrence of any crisis due to errors in Oxygen plants. And if any occurs, then it can be immediately reported to the concerned authorities.
Hence, it would be completely unfair to ignore the contribution of interns in this ongoing pandemic. And they should be treated as like any other frontline worker. With the increase in stipend, the interns should also be provided with medical insurance and free regular medical checkups and treatment. This actions will definitely motivate the interns to come forward and serve for the nation.