Strengthening the protest that is being held by over 2,800 medical interns of government hospitals from across the state since Wednesday, to protest against the government's failure in keeping its promise of increasing their stipend, their counterparts from the civic-run Sion Hospital staged a silent march at the hospital premises on Thursday. The 105 interns started the march from the Dean's office and ended it at the casualty building.

Voicing their displeasure over the meager '6,000 they get as stipend, some of the interns said they were finding it difficult to manage their expenses in a city like Mumbai. Moreover, they have been waiting for the hike since May, when the state health minister promised to take steps in the matter. Dr Pratik Shahare, an intern from Nagpur, said, "It's difficult to manage our expenses with the stipend that we currently get. Sometimes when we go for outdoor duty, we have to pay for travel expenses from our own pockets."