Junior doctors demands under consideration : AP Health Minister Kamineni Srinivas

VIJAYAWADA: State Health Minister Kamineni Srinivas has said that the demands put forth by junior doctors, who have been staging protests on and off, are being looked into. He has assured that the state government will try to resolve as many issues as possible.

Speaking after releasing the results of NEET PG - 2018 examination here on Wednesday, the minister said, “The issues raised by the junior doctors are under consideration. As they are related to policy-making, I will discuss with the state government and take a favourable decision.”

It may be recalled that AP Junior Doctors Association staged protests demanding hike in stipend, allowing MBBS and PG graduates to get registrations immediately after the course and other issues.

The minister also said that a bill over removal of making rural practice mandatory for undergraduate students  would be tabled during the ongoing assembly session. He would visit New Delhi next week to get more PG seats granted to the state, he said and added, “Last year, the MCI granted 176 new PG seats to our state. This time around, we have got only one seat. So, I will visit Delhi within a week and get the issue resolved,” he said.

Srinivas said stipend arrears of PG students from 2016 students would be released at the earliest. “We got the financial clearance on Wednesday and it is being processed. About `32-crore arrears will be released soon. A committee has been constituted to look into the stipend to be paid this year,” he added.