Mumbai, Nov. 13 -- Resident doctors at Mumbai's Dr R.N. Cooper Hospital have threatened to launch a protest called 'bheekh maango andolan' over recurring delays in the disbursal of their monthly stipends, saying the irregular payments are affecting their financial planning, loan repayments and daily expenses.

Resident doctors in Mumbai receive stipends of over Rs.90,000 from the medical colleges in lieu of the services rendered. "We had to raise our voices and threaten a protest before the stipends were credited to us post-Diwali," president of the Cooper unit of the Maharashtra Association of Resident Doctors (MARD) Mayur Choudhary said.

Their concerns, however, are not limited to last month's stipends. "When the entire hospital is run...