Saturday | 11 January 2025 | Reg No- 06
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Saturday | 11 January 2025 | Epaper

Trainee doctors on work stoppage block Shahbagh

Published : Monday, 23 December, 2024 at 12:00 AM  Count : 186
Postgraduate trainee doctors have resumed a work stoppage to demand a doubling of their monthly allowance from Tk 25,000 to Tk 50,000 The doctors have taken up positions on the road in Dhaka's Shahbagh since 1:30pm on Sunday.

Mahfuzur Rahman, a trainee doctor at Dhaka's Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University, told bdnews24.com that they will continue their protest at the city thoroughfare until their demands are met.

Shahbagh Police Station OC Mohammad Khalid Mansur said the protest had blocked the crucial intersection.

He said, "The doctors took up their positions and blocked the Shahbagh intersection around 1:30pm. We are trying to get them to clear the road by talking to them."

Private postgraduate trainee doctors had held a sit-in protest at the Bottola of BSMMU in the morning and chanted slogans.

Dr Jabir Hossain, president of the Postgraduate Private Trainee Doctors Association, told bdnews24.com: "We gave the government until noon. Now, if the government wants to sit down with us, that door is open. And if they don't want to meet, a solution will be found on the streets."

Jabir also said that the Health Ministry had summoned a delegation of six of the protesting doctors.

"The ministry has called us, and a delegation will be going there."

Postgraduate trainee doctors have been protesting since 2022 to demand an increase in their allowance. In June 2023, more than 500 doctors protested in front of the university's vice-chancellor's office.

They have since held protests at various times, taking up positions at the hospital gates, Shahbagh, and in front of the Central Shaheed Minar. They have also held large-scale hunger strikes.

In response to the protests, the then Awami League government announced in July last year that they would increase their allowance from Tk 20,000 to Tk 25,000.
However, trainee doctors said the allowance was still 'unreasonable'.

The trainee doctors resumed their protests after the interim government came to power.

The protesters say that they have talked to all authorities, including the BCPS, BSMMU, the Directorate General of Medical Education, the Directorate General of Health Services, and the Ministry of Health, to increase their allowance.

Everyone they spoke to called the demand for an increase in allowance 'reasonable' and gave assurances that it would be implemented quickly, the protesters said.

The trainee doctors also said that the recommendation for an increase in allowance had been sent to the Ministry of Finance, but there was no further progress there. It was not approved and did not reach the Ministry of Health either.

On Dec 14, the Doctors' Movement for Justice organisation held a torchlight procession from the Central Shaheed Minar to the Anti-Terrorism Raju Memorial Sculpture. They presented a 48-hour ultimatum on that day.

The following day, Dec 15, a meeting was held at the Ministry of Finance with representatives of the doctors, the Citizens' Committee, and Anti-discrimination Student Movement spokesman Sarjis Alam.

There, it was announced that the document would be approved and sent to the Ministry of Health accordingly.

However, that has yet to happen.

As a result, the doctors are holding a sit-in programme again, said Jabir.    
    —bdnews24.com



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