‘PG seats too few, hike stipend’: Odisha AYUSH students warn of indefinite agitation if demands not met

AYUSH students from across Odisha held a massive rally in Berhampur on Thursday, pressing eight major demands related to their academic and professional framework.

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The medicos staged a protest march culminating at Berhampur Sub-Collector’s office, where they submitted a memorandum addressed to the Chief Minister.

Among their demands are the creation of new AYUSH medical officer positions, the expansion of AYUSH PG and PhD seats, an increase in stipends for house surgeons, and the formation of administrative committees in all AYUSH colleges.

They also raised concerns over the State government not implementing central guidelines, pointing out that while new posts were created in 2002 during the BJD-led government, no new designations have been introduced since.

The students marched through the city in a colourful procession, making their grievances highly visible. They warned that similar protests will continue in the coming days, including wearing black armbands and staging indefinite ‘lockdown-style’ agitations unless and until their demands are met.

The student movement has gained momentum since November 6, and the agitators are firm in maintaining pressure on the State government until concrete actions are taken.

“We have an eight-point charter of demands, but three of them are the most important ones. The first one is the expansion of AYUSH PG seats. There are seven PG colleges, but the number of seats is very less,” agitating Final-Year BHMS student, Akankshya Dasmohapatra, said.

“Next one is the creation of AYUSH medical officer posts. If we will not get higher education in our State and get a job thereafter, then why should we study for five and a half years?” Akankshya questioned.

“Thirdly, we demand a dynamic stipend, which we used to get during internships,” the protesting female student expressed.