Ahead of Diwali festival, junior doctors in Jharkhand crib that they have been deprived of their right to get revised amount of stipends since long.

Now,days before Diwali on October 20-21,a delegation of Junior Doctors has sought appointment from Additional Chief Secretary (ACS) Health Ajay Kumar Singh and Health Minister Dr. Irfan Ansari to press for long-awaited revisions in their internship/stipends.

They are expected to meet them any time soon.If Junior Doctors Network Secretary Dr.Raghvendra Rathore is to be believed, despite repeated “ promises”, their monthly - annual stipend amount was not revised since 2023.

senior residents in the five medical colleges currently receive Rs 80,000 in the first year, Rs 85,000 in the second, and Rs 90,000 in the third year. The association is now demanding an increase to Rs 90,000, Rs 95,000, and Rs 1,00,000, respectively.

However, if a comparative analysis is made, senior residents of the state run RIMS earn Rs 1.23 lakh per month.

Similarly, postgraduate students in the five other colleges receive Rs 54,500, Rs 58,500, and Rs 63,500 across three years, while their RIMS counterparts get paid Rs 80,000, Rs 85,000, and Rs 90,000. The gap extends to interns as well—those in Jharkhand’s medical colleges earn Rs 17,500 per month, far less than the Rs 32,000 or more received by Interns at RIMS Ranchi.

Notably, RIMS has recently raised stipends by Rs 5,000.Dr. Rathore emphasized that the state-level disparity is unjustified. “After taxes, most of us take home only Rs 75,000, and many have families to support. We do not receive accommodation and have to pay our rent as well. Senior Residents should at least receive Rs 1 lakh per month,” he said.

The delegation also plans to raise the issue of maternity leave for female senior residents. Recently, a group of women doctors met Special Secretary Health Neha Arora, requesting the implementation of maternity leave provisions across state medical institutions.