Regmi fails to end Dr KC’s fast

KATHMANDU, JAN 22 -
Amid mounting pressure on the government due to the chaos in the health sector, Chairman of the Interim Election Government Khil Raj Regmi met Dr Govinda KC and urged him to break his fast-unto-death that entered 11 day on Tuesday.

Dr KC, however, stood firm in his position saying he would not give up until the government comes up with  a firm commitment to address his demands.

He has been on an indefinite strike demanding the government reinstate former Dean Dr Prakash Sayami,

stop issuing affiliations to new medical colleges, end political meddling in the Institute of Medicine (IoM), take action against TU office bearers, and develop the IoM into an independent university, among others.

The head of the government met the agitating doctor for the first time along with Minister of Education Madhav Poudel and Minister for Health Bidhyadhar Mallik, among other high level officials. The government team had first requested Dr KC to end his fast saying that a taskforce has been formed to decide on the autonomy of the IoM and that affiliation to new medical colleges has been halted for now.

The team also said instructions have been sent to review the appointment of new

Dean Dr Sashi Sharma. Dr KC, however, said that they will soon leave the government and they ‘are yet to be familiar with the TU office bearers’. “They are not the ones as you might think,” Dr KC told Regmi.

“Thank you for your concern. But I won’t break the fast until my demands are addressed.” Dr KC had asked the officials to stop the affiliation until the government comes up with a concrete policy on the number of medical colleges required.

Quoting Chairman Regmi, Dr Subarna Adhikari said since he is from the legal background he believes in a just society and showed his solidarity with Dr KC.  Minister Poudel, who is also the government spokesperson, told the Post that they are flexible on his demands that will be addressed soon.

Doctors quit en masse

Meanwhile, 106 doctors including the executive director of Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital (TUTH) Dr Bhagwan Koirala and three assistant deans and campus chief resigned en masse on Tuesday. They protested the government apathy towards addressing the demands

of Dr KC who is in critical condition. The resignation, however, could not be registered as the TU office was closed for the day.

Similarly, the Nepal Medical Association (NMA) has also threatened a mass resignation of all the doctors across the country.

Dr Anjani Kumar Jha told a press conference on Tuesday that they have been running the emergency services in hospitals respecting the Supreme Court order.

“Abiding by the SC’s verdict, I urge continuity to the emergency services. But our stir continues,” Jha said.

Demands of Dr KC

1.     End political meddling in all the education and health institutes

2.     Stop affiliation process to new medical colleges and those who were in pipeline

3.     Reinstate former Dean Dr Prakash Sayami

4.     Take action against the ‘corrupt’ TU office bearers

5.     Establish IoM as an autonomous health university

6.     Establish medical colleges in rural parts of the country

7.    Institutionalise the trend of appointing dean through seniority and work experience

Make dean appointment ‘ineffective’

Kathmandu: Interim Election Government Chairman Khil Raj Regmi, who is the chancellor of the Tribhuvan University, on Tuesday directed the TU vice-chancellor to render Dr Sashi Sharma’s appointment as the dean of Institute of Medicine ineffective.

Chairman Regmi has written to the VC, directing him to make the Executive Council’s decision to appoint the dean ineffective, read a statement issued by Prime Minister’s Office Secretary Rajuman Singh Malla on Tuesday. Regmi asked the VC to apprise him of the developments within 24 hours.

The instruction of Pro-chancellor and Education Minister Madhav Poudel to TU office bearers to solve the row amicably was not implemented.

Before issuing the statement on Tuesday, Chairman Regmi held a meeting with some ministers, the chief secretary and secretaries on the TUTH problem.

During the meeting, Regmi sought their views whether to sack Dr Sharma. Some ministers urged him to seek a middle path in view of possible legal complications.

Sources said Dr Sharma sent a message to Minister Poudel that he wanted a graceful exit or a transfer so that he could work with his TUTH colleagues in future. (PR)

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