A total of 235 intern doctors from Pune’s Byramjee Jeejeebhoy Government Medical College (BJMC) staged a protest on Tuesday, July 15, 2025, on the premises of the college and Sassoon General Hospital, demanding the immediate disbursal of their pending stipends.
As reported by The Free Press Journal, the interns, who are entitled to a monthly stipend of Rs 18,000, have not received any payments since April 5, 2025. The delay has caused mounting financial hardship for the interns, many of whom are struggling to meet basic living expenses.
“While we continue to serve diligently in our internship roles, the non-payment is causing a lot of financial distress. We urge the concerned authorities to prioritise this matter and ensure the timely disbursement of our stipends, as mandated by regulations and in recognition of our critical contributions to the healthcare system,” one intern doctor told Free Press Journal, requesting anonymity.
Following the protest, the Dean of BJ Medical College gave the interns a written assurance that their stipends would be paid by Friday, July 18, 2025.
“We have called off the strike after receiving formal assurance from the dean. However, we also demand appropriate action against the administrative officer, Goroba Awate, and the clerk, Raman, who are responsible for this delay. If the payment is not processed by the promised date, we will have no choice but to resume an indefinite strike,” said another intern.
In response, Dr Eknath Pawar, Dean of BJ Medical College, told The Free Press Journal, “The delay was due to the interns’ failure to submit their documents on time. We received their bank documents only in the last week of May. Since payments are processed online, it takes about a week to complete registration and secure the necessary approvals from the treasury. Had the documents been submitted earlier, the payment process would have been completed by now. Moreover, the interns did not communicate this issue to the higher authorities and directly staged a protest.”
Despite the Dean’s assurances, the interns remain vigilant and state that they will resume protests if the payment is not cleared by the committed date.
