SRINAGAR — The agitation by National Health Mission (NHM) employees continued across Jammu and Kashmir for the fourth consecutive day on Saturday, with around 12,000 workers remaining off duty over their long-pending demands.
The strike has affected healthcare activities at several locations, with protesting employees maintaining that they would continue the agitation until the government provides concrete and written assurances on their demands.
The employees are seeking revision of remuneration, removal of pay disparities with NHM workers in other states, a comprehensive policy for job security and regularisation, and social security measures including EPF, ESI, insurance coverage, leave salary and post-retirement benefits.
The employees said their absence had affected routine services and created difficulties for patients at various health institutions.
They maintained that they were not seeking any immediate or unreasonable benefit but wanted their contribution to the healthcare system to be recognised through a fair and secure service structure.
“We have been working for years in hospitals, health centres and different national health programmes, often under difficult conditions. Our demand is that the government should address the disparity in our salaries and provide us with a clear policy for our future,” protesting employees told the news agency KNO.
Another group of employees said repeated assurances had failed to resolve their concerns.
“We have heard assurances on several occasions, but the basic issues remain unresolved. This time, we want a written commitment and a clear timeline so that there is no ambiguity about what will happen to our demands,” they said.
Employees also said they understood the difficulties faced by patients because of the strike but maintained that the responsibility for resolving the issue rested with the authorities.
“We are part of the healthcare system and we do not want patients to suffer. But our grievances have also remained pending for years. We want the government to sit with us and resolve the issues instead of allowing the situation to continue,” a protesting employee said.
“NHM employees are performing essential duties, but there is a considerable difference in remuneration and service benefits. We want the government to examine this disparity and ensure that employees working under the same mission are treated fairly,” another employee said.
Political leaders from different parties also continued to visit protest sites and extend support to the employees. The protesters said they would welcome meaningful intervention leading to a written agreement and resolution of their demands.
Meanwhile, Health Minister Sakeena Itoo on Saturday appealed to NHM employees to call off the agitation and resume work, saying the government was conscious of their concerns and was making efforts to address them.
Speaking to reporters in Anantnag, Itoo said some demands could be addressed by the Jammu and Kashmir administration, while several others required intervention, approval or financial support from the Government of India.
“If we go to protest like this, I don’t think it will be right. Sometimes, the government is forced to take a step that we do not want to take,” she said.
The minister described NHM employees as an essential component of the healthcare delivery system and expressed concern over the impact of their prolonged absence on patient care.
“They are our own people. They are our own children. They are our own brothers and sisters,” Itoo said while appealing to them to return to work.
Itoo said the J&K Government had already forwarded a proposal concerning the demands of NHM employees to the Government of India, particularly on issues beyond the administrative and financial powers of the UT administration.
“For what is not in our hands, we have already sent your proposal to the Government of India,” she said.
The minister also said she had personally raised the issue of low remuneration of NHM employees with the Union Health Minister during her recent visit to New Delhi.
“I told him that their pay is very low. It is very expensive these days. He has accepted it,” she said, adding that the J&K Government would send another reminder to the Centre for early intervention.
She said other demands, including those related to leave salary and pension benefits, were also being examined.
NHM employees reiterated on Saturday that they wanted a written and time-bound assurance before considering withdrawal of the agitation and said they remained ready for dialogue with the government.
Separately, the protest by veterinary interns of Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology-Kashmir (SKUAST-K), Shuhama, over their monthly stipend entered its sixth day on Saturday, with their hunger strike entering its second day.
The protesting interns are demanding an increase in their monthly stipend from the existing ₹6,000 to ₹23,000, saying the current amount is inadequate to meet basic expenses and does not correspond with their internship responsibilities.
Jammu and Kashmir Veterinary Students Association president Saqlain Rashid said the students had been protesting peacefully for six days but had received no concrete response from the authorities.
“Our stipend is only Rs 6,000, which comes to around Rs 200 per day. Students in several other states are receiving more than Rs 20,000. Our genuine demand is that the stipend should be brought at par with other states,” he said.
Rashid said interns had to travel to different districts, states and remote areas during their training while also bearing rising living and travel expenses. He said the file concerning revision of the stipend had remained pending with the authorities for several years.
“We have received verbal assurances, but nothing concrete has happened so far,” he said, adding that some students had been observing a hunger strike for the previous 48 hours and alleging that no government representative had visited them.
He said opposition leaders, including MP Aga Ruhullah Mehdi, had visited the protesting students and assured them of support.
“Aga Ruhullah Mehdi also visited and assured us that he would raise the issue in the upcoming Assembly session,” Rashid said.
Another protesting student, Adil Rehman War, a fourth-year student at the Faculty of Veterinary Sciences and Animal Husbandry, SKUAST-K, said the ₹6,000 stipend was fixed in 2011 and had not been revised despite an increase in living and travel costs.
“Today is the sixth day of our peaceful protest and the second day of our hunger strike. Some of our batchmates and seniors are also participating in the hunger strike,” he said.
War said veterinary interns at institutions such as IVRI, BHU and Kamadhenu were receiving around ₹23,500, while SKUAST-K interns continued to receive ₹6,000.
He appealed to Chief Minister Omar Abdullah to personally intervene and urged Agriculture Minister Javed Ahmad Dar to take up the matter with the concerned departments.
Another student, Toiba Bashir, said the protest had entered its sixth day while the hunger strike was continuing for the second day.
“Our simple demand is that our stipend be revised. It has not been revised since 2011, and it is now 2026,” she said.
The students said their demand was for a fair and uniform compensation structure in view of their clinical duties, practical training, travel requirements and professional responsibilities. They reiterated that the protest would continue until the government responds and provides a concrete assurance on the revision of the stipend.
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