Hyderabad: Foreign Medical Graduates (FMGs) interning at govt general hospitals in Telangana were allegedly detained by Hyderabad police during a protest outside the Directorate of Medical Education (DME) office in Koti on Thursday. The protesters were demanding stipend parity with Indian Medical Graduates (IMGs).A senior Sultan Bazaar police officer said around 91 protesters were taken into preventive custody at 3 pm and released at around 7 pm. According to the officer, the protesters were taken to the Malakpet, Dabeerpura and Chikkadpally police stations. The action was taken because “protests were not permitted outside the DME office,” the officer said.“We have been asking for equal pay for equal work, but nobody is willing to meet us. The DME is avoiding us, and neither the health secretary nor the health minister has agreed to meet us. We have not received any written assurance so far,” said Suhas Mareedu, 27, an FMG intern who studied medicine in Jamaica.The protesting doctors cited a National Medical Commission (NMC) public notice dated Nov 22, 2023, in support of their demand for stipend parity. The notice provides for stipends on a par with those of IMGs for specified categories of FMGs, including certain students who completed their medical education in Ukraine. However, the applicability of these provisions to the protesting doctors, including those who graduated from other countries, remains to be clarified.The FMGs said they had been raising the issue for nearly a month after informing the DME of their proposed protest on Sept 23. They had earlier staged demonstrations at Dharna Chowk, People’s Plaza and the Telangana State Medical Council office before gathering outside the DME office on Thursday.
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