No salaries for 5 months for assistant professors of Kakatiya Medical College

Hyderabad: Nearly 44 assistant professors of Kakatiya Medical College (KMC) who are working on a contract basis have been suffering due to delayed and irregular payment of salaries. They have received salaries only twice in the last eight months.

The contracts of assistant professors last for a year. When the contracts ended for most doctors in March 2022, they were renewed again. However, the salaries have not been paid for the last five months.

"No salaries have been paid since the renewal of the contracts. I last received my salary in June," said Dr. M. Naresh, an assistant professor of KMC.

He added, "KMC principal said they need at least 1-2 weeks to disperse the salaries."

The non-payment of salaries has forced KMC contract doctors into taking loans from various sources. "How do the government and hospital expect us to continue working without getting paid? How do we pay our rent and manage our expenses?" asked Dr. Naresh.

Dr. B. Raghu, another assistant professor of KMC, was recruited on a contract basis from April 2022–23. "I got paid only for April and May. After that, I have not received my salary. When we ask the higher authorities they said the salaries are not being paid due to lack of budget. If there is no budget then why recruit us?" he asked.

Similarly, several contract doctors of Osmania Medical College have also reported that they have not been paid their salaries since April. Nearly 42 doctors from Osmania Medical College signed a letter addressed to the Directorate of Medical Education (DME).

"We are unable to sustain such a long delay in crediting salaries. Kindly consider our request and look into the matter and help us receive pending salaries and also ensure future salaries are paid on time," the letter read.