09 September,2026 01:39 PM IST | Bhopal | mid-day online correspondent
The intern doctors are demanding that their monthly stipend be increased from the current Rs 14,337 to Rs 30,000. Pic/ X
The protest by medical interns in Madhya Pradesh demanding a higher stipend entered its third day on Wednesday, with the agitators condemning the alleged lathicharge and use of water cannons by police on their colleagues two days ago.
Senior resident doctors have also extended their support to the protest, which is currently underway near the Kamala Park intersection in Bhopal. Doctors at the government-run Gandhi Medical College (GMC), Bhopal, have announced a boycott of the outpatient department (OPD), PTI reported.
The intern doctors are demanding that their monthly stipend be increased from the current Rs 14,337 to Rs 30,000.
Intern doctor Abhishek Yadav of the state-run Chhindwara Institute of Medical College told PTI Videos in Bhopal that medical interns in other states receive an average monthly stipend of nearly Rs 30,000.
Yadav alleged that police resorted to a lathicharge and used water cannons on medical interns during a peaceful protest on Monday, claiming that some doctors were injured. He said the interns would immediately end their agitation if the government accepts their demand, PTI reported.
Madhav Sharma, an intern doctor from Bundelkhand Medical College in Sagar, said he would continue protesting along with his colleagues until their demands are met.
Another intern doctor, Anurag, from GMC Bhopal, told PTI Videos that the government should respond positively to their demands and increase the stipend to Rs 30,000.
He said that despite the protests, emergency services have continued, with doctors holding peaceful demonstrations on one side of the road while traffic continues to flow on the other.
Anurag said the doctors have been pressing for a stipend hike for the past three years and have met officials and political leaders several times over the past three months.
"For the past three months, we have been hearing that the stipend will be increased, but assurances alone will not suffice," he said, PTI reported.
For the first time, intern doctors from various government medical colleges across the state joined the protest in Bhopal on Wednesday, Anurag said.
Referring to the alleged police action on Monday, Anurag claimed that some doctors suffered eardrum injuries, while others sustained fractures to their hands during the protest. However, these claims could not be independently confirmed immediately.
"We will remain here until our demands are met. We will end the protest only if the government issues a written order or clearly states the date from which the stipend will be increased," Anurag said, the news agency reported.
Meanwhile, an official said that a decision on the medical interns' demand would be taken soon after Chief Minister Mohan Yadav returns to the state capital on Wednesday evening.
(With PTI inputs)
