JNIMS students launch indefinite protest in Imphal over stipend & fee hike

Imphal, Aug 19: The MBBS students and internees of the State-run Jawaharlal Nehru Institute of Medical Sciences (JNIMS) ceasing their normal medical activities and launched an indefinite protest in Imphal on Monday.

Demanding revision and enhancement of stipend for intern students and condemning the rising admission fees, nearly 800 MBBS students, including 150 internees staged a sit-in at their JNIMS campus, Porompat Imphal East district.

"We're compelled to launch indefinite protest as the authority is yet to revise the stipend for JNIMS internees as our current monthly stipend cannot accommodate the daily needs," says Laishram Lenin Singh, president, JNIMS Students' Association.

The State authority is giving Rs 15,120 as stipend for interns since it was implemented in 2015 which the MBBS students described as significantly lower compared to other states. But, so far, there is no report of review or revision of the stipend.

In July last year, the JN-IMS authority had proposed to increase to Rs 31,500 and submitted a reminder to the State government in July this year. But, so far, there is no positive response from the government, according to a member of JNIMS Students' Association.

"We're planning to continue our protest until our demands are fulfilled," an intern, who is currently taking part in the day's protest, said.

Manipur Guv for better delivery of public services: Manipur Governor Ajay Kumar Bhalla, chaired a series of meetings at Raj Bhavan, Imphal on Monday, focusing on strengthening the digital ecosystem for better delivery of public services.

Key issues during the meeting included the introduction of an Al-powered case management system for legal matters, enhancing e-Office services, using Geographic Information Systems for village and habitation analysis, improving public information dissemination through government social media platforms, etc.

In the day's meeting, the Secretary (IT & Land Re-sources) Th Kirankumar, along with senior officers of the IT department, made detailed presentations on these initiatives.

Governor also directed the officers to take concrete steps for timely implementation of the above IT-based services to ensure more efficient and transparent public service delivery. Chief Secretary Dr Puneet Kumar Goel, Secretary to the Governor Sumant Singh and Commissioner (Home) N Ashok Kumar attended the meeting among others.