'Hotel staff told us to pay Rs 10,000 per bed if we want to stay'

Four doctors from the team from Kerala were suddenly told by the hotel they were staying at to pay Rs 10000 tariff per bed per day on Saturday then moved to a hotel in Powai without prior intimation Also the BEST bus service that used to ferry them to and from SevenHills Hospital was also stoppedThe confusion began when the BEST bus did not turn up at the hospital One of them contacted the driver and was told that the service has been stoppedAlso ReadAs hero Kerala doctors finish stint in Mumbai BMC yet to pay themOnly a handful of the doctors and staff nurses from Kerala are in Mumbai nowThe doctor who did not wish to be named told midday One of us who was to be on duty that day contacted the hospital and was advised by the incharge to take a cab instead and others were asked to proceed to Renaissance Hotel in Powai The next day one of us left for Kerala and now three of us male doctors are left The 26 staff nurses are staying in a hospital hostelAt The Lalit we were informed by the staff on Saturday morning that if we wish to continue our stay we will have to pay Rs 10000 tariff per bed every day This came as a surprise since we were still waiting for our salaries back then And then the stopping of the bus service created panic said the doctorAlso ReadCOVID19 Kerala doctors make abrupt exit from MumbaiThe team at SevenHills Hospital during their stint File picOf the 40 doctors that had come 37 have left for Kerala For the handful of doctors who are still here the least they could have done was inform us earlier the doctor addedDr Santosh Kumar the team leader who is in Thiruvananthapuram said Lack of effective communication led to the confusion and moreover the boys were not having enough money to continue staying at The Lalit Therefore they shifted to the Renaissance Hotel where doctors from SevenHills are already stayingDocs paid 4 nurses leftOn Tuesday the 40 doctors from the team were an excited bunch as they received one months salary I am happy that at last I got my salary for June I am waiting for my reimbursements air travel and local travel which I am told should be cleared soon said a doctorDr Aneesh Raj an intensivist who is in quarantine in Kerala said he too received his salary on TuesdayFour of the 26 nurses are still waiting though One of them said I had Rs 5000 in my bank account when I left Kerala for Mumbai Today my bank balance is Rs 36 My brother who was in Kuwait lost his job and is in Kollam my hometown in Kerala Once I get the salary I need to send some money home or else it will be difficult for them to meet their daily expensesAnother staff nurse who hails from Kottayam said My husband is without a job and my two children are very young I was trying for a job as a staff nurse in Saudi Arabia and my papers were being processed when the lockdown happened I quit my job in Delhi and returned to Kerala when I was approached with the Mumbai job offer With 10 years of experience I preferred to take up this job as sitting at home with no money in hand was very difficultWe hope the staff nurses who wish to serve at SevenHills for a longer period continue to get paid on time just like other staffers so that they do not face hardships said Dr KumarWe will be jobless hereThe doctors who have returned to Kerala are anxious about their future as many continue to be in quarantine and with COVID19 cases increasing in the state Most of them had already been without jobs as private hospitals have been taken over by the government to handle COVID19 casesThe patient inflow in private hospitals has drastically come down in the past few months due to COVID19 This has resulted in pay cuts and job loss for many doctors working in private setups a doctor saidRs 10000Amount hotel is telling docs to pay per bed per day40Total no of doctors that had come from KeralaThe Lalit saysThe Lalit near the airport PicSayyed Sameer AbediAn official at The Lalit told midday The hotel only deals with BMC for reservation and does not communicate with the doctors Dr Balkrishna Adsul dean of SevenHills COVID Centre said There was no point in sending a BEST bus to pick and drop only three doctors from The Lalit so we shifted them to Renaissance hotel where SevenHills doctors are already stayingCatch up on all the latest Mumbai news crime news current affairs and a complete guide from food to things to do and events across Mumbai Also download the new midday Android and iOS apps to get latest updates MidDay is now on Telegram Click here to join our channel middayinfomedialtd and stay updated with the latest news