Ayurveda resident docs call off strike

Nagpur: Resident doctors of Ayurveda faculty, who were on strike since October 7, finally decided to call off their agitation and go back to work from October 15 after the state cabinet approved Rs10,000 per month incentives to their existing stipend on Wednesday.
Resident doctors of Ayurveda faculty were working at par with their counterparts of modern medicine as frontline Covid warriors. But they were not getting their stipend from last four months. Moreover, they were not allotted Rs10,000 additional incentives given to modern medicine and dental faculty residents from May 2020. The strike, started from Nagpur Government Ayurvedic College, was later followed statewide by all Ayurveda GMC residents.
“The major issue of incentives has been resolved and we are going back to work due to the prevailing Covid conditions. As far as the other issues are concerned, our delegation will meet district collector Ravindra Thakare on Thursday,” said Dr Sumit Marathe, president of Maharashtra Association of Ayurveda Resident Doctors (MAARD).
After the cabinet nod, a junior resident doctor in a government Ayurveda college will now get a monthly stipend of Rs64,551, JR-2 Rs 65,112 and JR-3 Rs 65,673. The incentive of Rs10,000 per month will be applicable from May 2020. More than 300 residents stand to gain from this hike. They have thanked medical education minister Amit Deshmukh for this decision.
The students forum of National Integrated Medical Association (NIMA) has also welcomed the decision. “We laud the state government’s decision to increase the stipend. We also expect the government to clear the pending demands of Ayurveda residents,” said Dr Shubham Bobde, president of NIMA students’ forum.
“NIMA will continue to pursue the demand for similar incentives to our interns and residents from non-aided Ayurveda colleges as these doctors are also providing Covid services,” he added.