Ujjain (Madhya Pradesh): More than 200 students of Ujjain Ayurveda College and Hospital continued their protest for the second consecutive day on Tuesday, demanding an increase in stipend and parity with MBBS interns.
Students performed a 'yajna' at the protest site, while two students, Dr Muskan Mandawat and Dr Anjali Rathore, began a 24-hour hunger strike.
The students wrote their demands on slips of paper and offered them into the 'yajna' fire. The protest at Dhanwantri Ayurveda College intensified after talks with officials failed to make progress. A group of students had travelled to Bhopal on Monday to meet senior officials.
The students cited Clauses 15(B) and 15(D) of the National Commission for Indian System of Medicine (NCISM), alleging that the provisions require parity in stipends across systems of medicine and prohibit discrimination.
They said BAMS interns in Madhya Pradesh receive a stipend of Rs 9,383, while the stipend for MBBS interns was recently increased to Rs 21,500.
Students claimed BAMS interns perform the same work and duties as MBBS interns, but continue to receive a lower stipend. They also said several other states pay higher stipends to BAMS interns.
The protesters demanded that their stipend be raised to Rs 21,500 with immediate effect. They said they did not want an announcement, but a written government order.
