Srinagar, Sep 04 (KNS): Medical interns across Jammu and Kashmir on Friday decided to continue their strike despite a prolonged meeting with Health Minister Sakina Itoo, with both sides failing to resolve differences over the long-pending demand for a stipend hike.
The nearly 90-minute-long meeting remained inconclusive as the interns refused to accept verbal assurances and insisted on a written order before calling off their agitation.
"We had discussions with minsiter Sakina Itoo today. It went on for an hour and a half. She said she will work on this within a month. But we had disagreements regarding some things," Dr Zamin Jawed, a representative of the agitating interns, told KNS after the meeting.
"The strike will continue. We have not called it off. We will see what happens after that," he added.
Dr Jawed said the file was stuck with the finance department despite being forwarded in 2023, and the interns had lost faith in verbal promises.
"Until we get a written order with immediate effect, we will not withdraw the strike. We told minister Itoo the same thing," he said.
He also said the representatives would consult their colleagues across all 11 government medical colleges in the Union Territory before taking a final call.
"There are 11 medical colleges in J&K. We have to talk to them. That is why we have kept the doors open for further discussions," Dr Jawed said.
The Health Minister is understood to have assured the interns of her intervention and sought a month's time to resolve the matter. However, with no written assurance, the agitating doctors made it clear they would wait to review the situation based on the government's response. (KNS)