Senior doctors urge Telangana government to clear pending salaries

HYDERABAD:  The members of Telangana Senior Resident Doctors’ Association (TSRDA) on Tuesday requested Health Minister T Harish Rao to clear the pending salaries of Senior Resident Doctors.

The members decided to boycott both emergency and elective services in all medical colleges if this demand is not met immediately. “Senior residents are giving services in our respective hospitals/medical colleges where we are not provided any accommodation, travel service, or basic facilities,” said members of the TSRDA in a letter addressed to the Health Minister.

Dr Rajeev, TSRDA representative said: “We completed our post-graduation in April 2021. As the country was witnessing the peak of  the second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic, the government instructed us to serve in the hospitals.”

The doctors served for three-and-a-half months from May to August 15. However, they received the stipend for all the months except May.  “Similarly, the government has not cleared the salaries of senior residents from February this year,” Dr Rajeev added.

Demanding that these pending stipends and salaries have to be cleared, the Resident Doctors Association has warned it will go on a strike if the demands are not met. “Last time when the government was not paying our salaries we had to raise our voices. They don’t pay unless we ask. We want the payment to be regularised,” Dr Rajeev said.