Health Workers in Imphal East Protest Mounting Monetary Demands Amid Post-Conflict Strain

Imphal: Medical employees serving in Manipur’s Imphal East district staged a three-hour sit-in protest on Thursday, appealing for an end to what they described as increasingly frequent and financially unbearable monetary demands placed on health offices and personnel by various organisations, including civil society bodies and alleged unlawful armed groups.

Annual demands reportedly rise from ₹4–5 lakh to ₹16–17 lakh since May 2023; employees appeal for relief from repeated financial pressure

The protest, held from 10 am to 1 pm at the SAYC ground in Porompat, Soibam Leikai, brought together employees working under the Chief Medical Officer (CMO), Imphal East district. The participants included doctors, nurses, laboratory technicians, auxiliary nurse midwives (ANMs), health workers and other staff who say the mounting demands have become increasingly difficult to meet from their salaries.

The protest reflects a growing strain on a section of the public health workforce already carrying demanding responsibilities amid the continuing consequence on the state’s economy of Manipur’s prolonged conflict.

The employees are not asking to be relieved of their public duties. Rather, they are appealing for the financial pressure surrounding those duties to be addressed so they can continue serving patients without the added burden of repeated monetary demands.

One of the most striking figures emerging from accounts provided by district health personnel is the reported increase in annual demands and donations—from approximately ₹4–5 lakh before the outbreak of ethnic violence on 3 May 2023 to around ₹16–17 lakh since then.

A senior official associated with the CMO office, Imphal East, confirmed the sharp increase in the overall financial burden, describing the current level as difficult for employees to sustain alongside their household expenses.

The figures are based on accounts shared by health personnel and officials and would benefit from verification against records. Nevertheless, they indicate the scale of the pressure that prompted employees to take their grievances to a public platform.

A burden beyond their regular duties

Khagembam Bikramjit Singh, Pharmacist (Allopathy) and Store In-charge of the Non-Communicable Disease (NCD) Cell, Imphal East, told Waari Singbul at the protest site that medical teams are frequently required to provide services at sporting events, cultural programmes and melas held at venues including Khuman Lampak Sports Complex, Hapta Kangjeibung and City Convention Centre. Such deployments are additional to the employees’ regular responsibilities and, according to Singh, do not bring additional remuneration.

For the personnel concerned, this means more hours of work without a corresponding increase in income. Their monthly salaries remain their principal source of earnings, yet they are repeatedly expected to contribute towards monetary demands made on health offices and individual facilities.

The strain is particularly acute for lower-paid employees, including laboratory technicians, ANMs, health workers and staff nurses. Their earnings must cover ordinary household expenses, while the number and frequency of demands have reportedly increased since the 2023 conflict.

For employees already working extended hours and responding to public health needs, even a contribution that may appear manageable at the institutional level can become a serious personal burden when repeated over time.

Repeated demands, repeated contributions

Employees who spoke to Waari Singbul on condition of anonymity said monetary demands were being made both at the CMO office and directly at individual health centres across Imphal East district.

According to their account, when a demand is received at the district-level CMO office, contributions are collected from all employees of the district through a sharing arrangement. Grade IV staff, drivers and contractual personnel are reportedly exempted from this particular arrangement.

However, employees posted at peripheral health centres say they can face a double burden: contributing towards demands received at the CMO office while also being asked to contribute towards separate demands made directly to their own facilities.

They further alleged that a group which had already received a contribution at the district level could subsequently make another demand at a health centre, while other organisations might issue fresh demands independently.

These accounts describe the central grievance behind Thursday’s protest: the problem is not a single contribution but the cumulative effect of repeated demands, overlapping collection arrangements and limited personal incomes.

The allegations concerning individual organisations and the circumstances of particular demands require independent verification. The employees’ accounts, however, point to a situation in which medical personnel feel they have little room to absorb further financial pressure.

The distinction is important. The protest is an appeal for relief from the demands, not an endorsement of unlawful collections. Monetary demands by unlawful armed groups raise serious concerns about coercion and public safety, and any such allegations should be investigated by the appropriate authorities.

Women serving on the front line

A senior official associated with the CMO office expressed concern that many doctors and other medical personnel serving in Imphal East are women.

According to the official, the absence of adequate security at peripheral health facilities leaves employees vulnerable when people arrive to make monetary demands. The official said the situation raises concerns not only about the employees’ finances but also about their ability to carry out their professional responsibilities safely.

Health centres are places where people seek treatment, advice and emergency assistance. Their staff should be able to attend to patients without fearing intimidation or facing repeated interruptions over money.

For medical workers serving in remote and peripheral locations, the problem can be particularly difficult. They may have limited institutional support on site, yet remain responsible for maintaining essential services for the communities around them.

The employees’ appeal therefore extends beyond their personal financial circumstances. It raises a question about the protection and working conditions of the people expected to keep public health services functioning during difficult times.

A district workforce under pressure

A reliable source put the total number of personnel working under the CMO, Imphal East, at approximately 610. The reported composition includes 110 regular doctors, 48 contractual doctors, 382 staff across categories including staff nurses, ANMs, health workers and administrative, financial and Grade III personnel, and 70 Grade IV employees.

These figures, which require confirmation against official staffing records, illustrate the breadth of the workforce affected by the issue.

Doctors and nurses may be the most visible members of a medical team, but the delivery of healthcare depends equally on laboratory technicians, health workers, support staff, drivers and administrative personnel. Each has a role in ensuring that patients can access services and that facilities continue to operate.

Lower-paid workers, in particular, have limited capacity to absorb recurring financial demands. Their contribution to the functioning of the health system is essential, yet their salaries do not necessarily leave room for repeated unplanned expenses.

The concern expressed by the protesting employees is that these demands are becoming an additional, unofficial burden on a workforce whose time and labour are already stretched.

CMO office acknowledges the pressure

The senior official said the overall amount demanded from health personnel and offices had risen substantially after the outbreak of violence in May 2023, from approximately ₹4–5 lakh annually before the conflict to ₹16–17 lakh in the period since.

The official acknowledged that meeting the increased demands had become difficult for employees who also had to manage their household expenditure.

The allegations of coercion and unlawful monetary demands warrant attention from the relevant authorities. At the same time, the employees who have come forward should not be treated as though protesting against the demands makes them responsible for them.

An appeal to let medical staff do their work

During the three-hour sit-in, protesters displayed placards carrying appeals such as “Don't Disturb Medical Staffs”, “Free Tension to Medical Offices” and “Don't Demand Unbearable Amount to the Medical Offices”.

The messages were simple, but the circumstances behind them are not.

Medical personnel are expected to respond when patients need care, work through difficult conditions and provide services during public events and emergencies. Their professional responsibilities do not disappear when the working day ends, particularly when staffing is limited or demands on the health system increase.

Yet these responsibilities do not make them immune to financial hardship. Nor should their commitment to public service be mistaken for an unlimited capacity to meet monetary demands.

The issue is therefore not merely how much money is being sought from health offices. It is whether a public health workforce can continue to function effectively when its members face repeated financial pressure, additional duties and concerns about their safety.

The employees’ protest offers an opportunity for the state government, health authorities and law-enforcement agencies to examine the situation and identify practical measures to protect medical personnel and preserve uninterrupted healthcare services.

Such measures could include investigating reported unlawful demands, strengthening security at vulnerable health facilities, establishing confidential channels for employees to report coercion and ensuring that any additional official duties are supported through appropriate staffing and administrative arrangements.

For a district workforce already carrying the responsibilities of public healthcare, relief from repeated financial pressure would be more than an employee-welfare measure. It would help protect the conditions in which essential medical services are delivered.

The employees of Imphal East have made their appeal through a sit-in rather than allowing their grievances to remain unheard. Their message is ultimately a humanitarian one: those who spend their working lives caring for others should not have to face an ever-growing burden that makes it harder to sustain their own families and carry out their duties.

Protecting medical workers from coercion and unreasonable financial pressure is also a way of protecting the patients who depend on them.

Written by: Nepram Tombi Meitei

(Nepram Tombi Meitei is a Manipur-based journalist reporting from the ground since 1999, committed to responsible journalism and public welfare)

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