Chandigarh dental college students threaten to go on hunger strike over stipend
Various student parties such as Chhatra Yuva Sangharsh Samiti (CYSS) and Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) were also seen along with the 100 odd protesters present here.
As the protest by Bachelor of Dental Surgery (BDS) and Master of Dental Surgery (MDS) courses of Dr Harvansh Singh Judge (HSJ) Institute of Dental Sciences and Hospital, Panjab University (PU), entered the second day, students have threatened to go on a hunger strike from Friday if their demands are not met.
They continued to remain on protest overnight at gate number 1 in Panjab University with students remaining present even beyond midnight on Wednesday. On Thursday, they announced that they will go on a hunger strike if their stipend is not increased.
Various student parties such as Chhatra Yuva Sangharsh Samiti (CYSS) and Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) were also seen along with the 100 odd protesters present here.
Panjab University Campus Student Council (PUCSC) council vice-president Ranmeekjot Kaur was also present with the protesters and said it was unfair how the interns weren’t paid on par with other medical institutes of the region.
Even the hospital wore a deserted look on Thursday. Only emergency ward was functional at noon and the OPD services, which are run entirely by the interns, were closed.
The protesters are alleging that they receive a stipend between ₹9,000 and ₹10,000 per month, which is unchanged since 2009. The PU senate had also decided to increase their stipend in 2022 but it hasn’t happened till now, while the authorities claim that they will get their stipend increased from the next month. Some faculty members also expressed that the students are right to demand this even as this is a self-financed course.
