The Bengal government has enhanced the stipend of nearly 10,000 junior doctors deployed mostly in state-run medical colleges and hospitals by at least Rs 4,425 a month, a move aimed at ensuring proper treatment of Covid-19 patients.

“Despite the financial crisis the state is facing, chief minister Mamata Banerjee has decided to enhance the stipend of junior doctors to acknowledge their effort to fight Covid-19,” junior health minister Chandrima Bhattacharya said on Monday.

Sources in the state government said the move was timely because the number of Covid-19 cases was increasing rapidly in the state. “The junior doctors are the backbone of state-run healthcare establishments. They deserve a hike,” an official said.

Bhattacharya also said the stipend of junior doctors would be revised whenever dearness allowance is announced for state government employees.

Following the revision, the stipend of an intern increases from Rs 23,625 to Rs 28,050 and that of housestaff from Rs 38,391 to Rs 43,758.

An official said the government had realised the importance of the junior doctors during the pandemic. “The difference was visible at MR Bangur Hospital, where a number of deaths were reported in the initial days after it was converted into a Covid-19 treatment centre. But soon after a number of junior doctors were sent to the hospital, the picture started changing,” said an official.