Dr KC resumes hunger strike

KATHMANDU, FEB 09 - Dr Koirala quits as TUTH director
Dr Govinda KC , senior orthopedic surgeon at Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital, resumed his hunger strike on Saturday as the government failed to appoint a new dean at the Institute of Medicine (IoM) in two weeks’ time as promised to him.

Dr KC, who was to start fast-unto-death at 2 pm, delayed his strike for two hours after the Dean Search Committee formed by the TU requested him to wait saying that it would recommend a name for the dean.

The committee was sharply divided over the criteria for recommending the names, which resulted in resignation of Dr Deepak Mahara, a member of the panel.

Dr Mahara was in favour of recommending three names on the basis of seniority, while two other members Dr Krishna Kumar Oli and Dr Ratendra Shrestha opposed seniority as the sole criteria. They argued the dean could also be nominated from other than IoM professors.

“I quit as I could not agree with them,” Dr Mahara told the Post.

Dr KC said he was compelled to start a hunger start for the fourth time as TU officials were not serious about resolving the problem at the IoM. He accused top officials at the university were influenced by the political leaders and ‘academic mafias’.

“It is clear that TU officials are working in favour of academic mafias,” he told reporters before starting the protest. He has demanded the dismissal of TU office bearers, including Vice Chancellor, Rector and Registrar claiming that they did not follow the order of the government to appoint the dean immediately.

Prominent among his five-point demand is reappointment of Dr Prakash Sayami, who was forced to resign as the dean of IoM, and go for a new appointment based on the seniority and work experience only if he denies resuming the post. Sayami had tendered his resignation on December 4, unyielding to the TU demand that the IoM give accreditation to new medical colleges.  Other demands include immediate action against the IoM officials who were found guilty in various corruption cases and investigation into irregularities in the process of granting license to new medical colleges. Twelve medical colleges have received letter of intent, while the TU has been pressuring IoM officials to grant licence to four of them.

He has also urged the government to start state-owned medical colleges in the rural parts of the country to ensure equity in access to health services. “I request all of my colleagues not to halt health services this time,” said Dr KC, who is still recuperating from the previous hunger strike.

TU Registrar Chandra Mani Poudel said they are waiting for the committee’s recommendation. “We will appoint the dean once we have the recommended names for the post,” Poudel said.   Dr KC had ended his 14-day hunger strike on January 24 after a four-member government taskforce headed by Secretary at Prime Minister’s Office Krishna Hari Baskota assured him that his demands would be addressed at the earliest. The government team had agreed to open a feasibility study on providing autonomy to the IoM, stop affiliation to new medical colleges and set up a mechanism to appoint a new dean on the basis of seniority and work experience as demanded by Dr KC.

Dr Koirala quits as TUTH director

The Tribhuvan University Executive Council on Saturday approved the resignation of Prof Dr Bhagwan Koirala , executive director at the TU Teaching Hospital, Maharajgunj.

Koirala had submitted his resignation on Friday, citing difficulty in handling the TUTH administration due to problems caused by delay in dean appointment. Narayan Khanal, legal advisor to the TU, informed that the resignation was approved by the Council meet on Saturday afternoon. Dr Ratendra Shrestha, a former acting dean and member of ‘Dean Search Committee’, has been appointed as the new executive director of TUTH for three months, sources said.  But the move is likely to aggravate the current crisis, with hospital’s resident doctors saying that       they would not allow him to work in the position.

Koirala said he decided to step down after his requests to the TU authority to create favourable working environment in the hospital was not given importance.

He said TUTH has become the victim of the problems in the Institute of Medicine.

“The trouble of the IoM has disrupted the smooth running of TUTH.” (PR)

Labels: Highlight, News