Resident doctors in Mumbai's civic hospitals, represented by the Maharashtra Association of Resident Doctors (BMC MARD), are set to launch a phased protest starting Wednesday. This action comes after unsuccessful negotiations with the civic administration regarding the non-implementation of revised dearness allowance (DA) and outstanding arrears. Despite three revisions resulting in a cumulative 31% increase in DA, the updated rates have not been reflected in doctors' salaries, leading to claims of nearly ₹50,000 in arrears per doctor. Currently, first-year residents earn ₹81,000, while second- and third-year residents earn ₹82,000 and ₹83,000, respectively. The association argues that first-year residents should be receiving ₹47,000 as DA instead of ₹43,857. The protest will begin with doctors wearing black ribbons and escalate to mass leave from operation theatres if their demands are not met. The delay in implementing the DA revisions has been attributed to procedural issues within the administration, which has urged doctors to postpone their protest until April 17. However, the doctors have opted to proceed, raising concerns about the potential impact on essential healthcare services in the city.