Hyderabad, November 09: Medical services in the government hospitals were partially affected at several places in Andhra Pradesh today with junior doctors holding protests demanding hike in stipend paid to them.
The medicos organised protests at the premier state-run Gandhi Hospital and other medical facilities and threatened an indefinite strike if the government did not respond properly to their demand in the next couple of days.
The medicos demanded that the stipend be raised from over Rs 5,000 to Rs 12,000 for house surgeons and from over Rs 8,000 to Rs 30,000 for post-graduate students.
The Andhra Pradesh Junior Doctors Association, which organised the stir, contended that the current stipend was much lower than what is paid in other states.
Criticising the protest by the medicos, Minister for Arogyasri Health Insurance Scheme P Satyanarayana told reporters at Eluru in West Godavari district that their action is irresponsible.
–Agencies