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Postgraduate private trainee doctors have blocked the capital’s Shahbagh once again, rejecting the government’s announcement of a Tk 5,000 increase in their monthly stipend.
On Sunday, the protesting doctors united under the banner of the Doctors Movement for Justice, or DMJ, demanding a substantial increase in their monthly allowance to Tk 50,000.
After gathering at the Bottola of the Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University at around 9am, the protesters stayed there for 2.5 hours. Later, they blocked the road at Shahbagh at 11:30am.
Mohammad Tanvir Rahman Dwip, one of the protesting doctors, said the trainees had been waiting since 9am to see if they would get any assurances from the government about their demands being met. However, after waiting until 11:30am, they blocked the Shahbagh intersection.
He told bdnews24.com: “Our demand was to increase the allowance from Tk 25,000 to Tk 50,000. We were assured of being given ninth grade with facilities. But it was not given.”
“The government has issued a notification increasing the allowance by only Tk 5,000. But we have rejected that notification. A new notification should be issued with Tk 50,000 or ninth grade facilities. Otherwise, we will not leave the road, and our programme will continue. The police and higher authorities are threatening us in various ways to leave the road.”
Around 2pm, DMJ chief Dr Jabir Hossain said that their sit-in programme would continue.
“We had given time until Thursday to amend the notification and increase the allowance. But since the demand was not met, we have taken a stand again today.”
Mohammad Khalid Mansur, the chief of Shahbagh Police Station, said that traffic has been blocked in Shahbagh due to the doctors’ protest.
Around 1:45pm, Mansur said: “Due to the doctors’ presence, traffic has been blocked in the Shahbagh area, leading to severe traffic congestion. We are trying to talk to them and move them away from the road.”
According to police, the blockade has created gridlock in the area since 11:30am on Sunday.
Khondaker Nazmul Hasan, additional commissioner of police (traffic) of Dhaka Metropolitan Police, told bdnews24.com: “The traffic is not normal. Efforts are being made to manage the situation by diverting it.”
A large number of police personnel have been deployed in the area to avoid chaos surrounding the doctors’ programme in Shahbagh. Police armoured vehicles and water cannons have also been kept ready.
The 10,000 postgraduate trainee doctors across the country play a vital dual role, balancing advanced medical studies with providing essential healthcare services in government hospitals.
This protest marks the latest chapter in a longstanding dispute. In 2022, similar demonstrations led to an increase in the stipend from Tk 5,000 to Tk 25,000 during the final months of the now deposed Awami League government. However, the protesters had been objecting to the new allowance, claiming that it was “unreasonable”.
After the interim government came to power, doctors relaunched their protests to demand an increase in the allowance. On Dec 22, they blocked the road in Shahbagh, which brought traffic to a halt. Later, they left the road after receiving assurances from the Anti-discrimination Student Movement leader Sarjis Alam that their demands would be met.
Under the circumstances, the Finance Department issued a notification on Dec 23 increasing the stipend of unpaid trainees of the Bangladesh College of Physicians and Surgeons, or BCPS, who passed the first phase by Tk 5,000 to Tk 30,000.
In a statement rejecting the announcement, the DMJ said: “Breaking promises with post-graduate private trainee doctors is nothing new. But in this new Bangladesh, any discrimination will no longer be tolerated.”