# MDS Resident Doctors Protest in Shimla Over Three Months of Unpaid Stipend and Lack of Hostels, Threaten OPD Shutdown

> MDS resident doctors at Shimla's Government Dental College staged a massive protest over three months of unpaid stipends and missing clinical supplies. Protesters warned of shutting down OPD services if pending dues and housing grievances are not resolved immediately.

**Type:** article · **Category:** Himachal Pradesh · **Published:** 2026-11-03 · **Source:** TrendKia
**Canonical:** https://trendkia.com/en/himachal-pradesh/shimla-ke-sarakari-dentala-koleja-men-mds-doktaron-ka-phuta-gussa-staipenda-aura-hostala-ki-manga-ko-lekara-di-opd-bnda-karane-ki--55920 · **Language:** English
**Tags:** Shimla, Dental College, MDS Doctors, Stipend Protest, OPD Strike, Himachal Pradesh

Frustration reached a boiling point at the Government Dental College and Hospital in Shimla as postgraduate MDS resident doctors launched an extensive campus demonstration against administrative delays and difficult working conditions. The agitating doctors voiced sharp anger over enduring three consecutive months without their monthly stipends. Compounding their financial distress, the residents revealed that a persistent shortage of clinical supplies inside the hospital forces them to purchase dental tools and procedural materials out of their own pockets to treat visiting patients.

## Slogans of 'No Stipend, No Work' Echo Across the Dental Campus
Doctors gathered on campus grounds carrying banners and raising spirited chants, prominently shouting slogans such as 'No Stipend, No Work' and 'No excuses, no denial, we want our rightful dues.' Protesting doctors pointed out that mandatory regulations set by the National Dental Commission (NDC) require academic stipends to be disbursed within the first week of every calendar month. Contrary to these statutory guidelines, residents at the institution face chronic delays lasting two to three months before seeing any funds credited. Sharing his ordeal, third-year resident Dr. Pranav explained that despite reaching the final stretch of his postgraduate education, he is regularly compelled to make endless rounds of administrative desks just to ask for his rightful earnings, receiving no clear timeline regarding payout dates.

## No Hostel Infrastructure Available Since Institution's Inception in 1998
Beyond missing payments, residents raised alarms over long-standing accommodation shortages. Highlighting institutional negligence, Dr. Hridesh Kumar Dixit noted that while the dental college first began operations back in 1998, authorities have failed to build or allocate residential hostels for resident doctors over the span of nearly three decades. As a direct consequence, postgraduate medics are left with no choice but to rent private accommodations at steep prices in Sanjauli and nearby localities. Several doctors reside in peripheral settlements bordering forested areas, where daily safety remains compromised. The danger was underscored by a recent episode where an MDS resident doctor suffered an attack by aggressive monkeys near their residence.

## Out-of-Pocket Clinical Purchases and Looming OPD Service Suspension
The daily challenges inside hospital clinics were outlined by Dr. Tanuja Thakur, who explained that clinical departments frequently run short of basic consumables and procedural supplies essential for standard patient care. Rather than turning patients away without treatment, doctors frequently dig into their depleted personal savings to buy supplies directly from local markets. When resident doctors attempt to pursue their unpaid stipends with the accounts division, staff members merely redirect them from one department to another without resolving the delay. The protesting doctors have dispatched a formal letter of demands to the college principal, warning that if their pending stipends are not credited promptly, they will shut down hospital OPD services and embark on a comprehensive strike. Responding to the crisis, college principal Dr. Yogesh Bhardwaj stated that required paperwork to release the pending stipends for MDS resident doctors is currently in motion and funds will be distributed once the relevant files clear his final signature.

## What this means for you
The demonstration and potential strike by resident dentists at Shimla's Government Dental College could disrupt affordable oral healthcare across the state.

- **Across Himachal Pradesh:** Patients visiting the state capital from remote districts for subsidized specialist dental procedures risk facing abrupt suspension of OPD consultations. A full strike will force underprivileged citizens to seek costly private clinic treatments for routine and urgent tooth procedures.
- **In Shimla:** Local residents in Shimla and surrounding areas like Sanjauli face imminent disruption in everyday dental healthcare visits at the college hospital. Patients planning visits for ongoing dental procedures should verify hospital OPD operational status prior to commuting.
- **For Resident Doctors:** Postgraduate medical students face acute financial strain after three straight months of unpaid monthly stipends. The continued administrative backlog diverts critical time away from patient care and clinical training toward bureaucratic follow-ups.
- **For Healthcare Quality:** Institutional shortages of baseline clinical consumables directly impact standard infection control and clinical workflow. Forcing junior doctors to fund clinical supplies out of personal funds undermines the reliability of public dental healthcare delivery.

## Why this happened
The protest was triggered by a protracted three-month delay in stipend disbursement, combined with chronic infrastructure deficits including absent student hostels and missing clinical inventory.

- **Three Months of Unpaid Dues:** While National Dental Commission guidelines mandate that stipends be released in the first week of every month, resident doctors received no compensation for three consecutive months. Administrative red tape and a lack of clear answers from the accounting department exhausted the doctors' patience.
- **Decades-Old Lack of Hostel Infrastructure:** Despite functioning since 1998, the dental college has never established dedicated residential hostels for resident medics. This forced students to secure private rentals in surrounding areas, exposing them to high rents and safety hazards like monkey attacks in forested outskirts.
- **Shortage of Everyday Clinical Equipment:** The hospital department repeatedly failed to supply baseline dental consumables required for regular patient care. Junior doctors were routinely compelled to spend their own scarce money to buy treatment materials, exacerbating their personal financial pressure.

## Questions & Answers

### 1. Why are MDS resident doctors protesting at the Government Dental College in Shimla?
The doctors have not received their monthly stipend for three months and are forced to buy basic clinical supplies out of their own pockets to treat patients.

### 2. What do National Dental Commission guidelines mandate regarding stipends?
NDC rules specify that resident doctors must receive their monthly stipend within the first week of every month.

### 3. What housing challenges are resident doctors facing in Shimla?
The college has lacked residential hostels since 1998, forcing doctors to rent expensive private rooms in places like Sanjauli, where one doctor was recently attacked by monkeys.

### 4. What action have the doctors threatened if their demands are ignored?
The resident doctors warned that they will completely shut down outpatient department (OPD) services and proceed on strike if their demands are not addressed.

### 5. What statement did the college principal give regarding the issue?
Principal Dr. Yogesh Bhardwaj assured that administrative procedures to clear the pending stipends are underway and funds will be released once files are signed.

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