Dr KC warns of a return to strike

KATHMANDU, FEB 03 - Barely a week after breaking his death fast, Dr Govinda KC has warned to go back on strike if the government does not appoint a new dean at the Institute of Medicine (IoM) by Tuesday evening.

In an SMS circulated on Sunday to all three secretaries of the government task force formed to address the demands put forth by doctors across the country, Dr KC has said he will return to indefinite hunger strike if the appointment of dean is not materialised in the next two days.

Dr KC had ended his indefinite hunger strike on January 24 after a four-member government task force headed by Secretary at the Prime Minister’s Office Krishna Hari Baskota agreed in principle to address three of his seven demands. The government team had agreed to address his demands to start 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”. Secretary at the Home Ministry Janardan Nepal, Secretary at the Education Ministry Narayan Gopal Malegu and Secretary at the Health Ministry Pravin Mishra were the other members of the government team.

Thanking the secretaries for issuing an order to appoint a new IoM dean, Dr KC texted: “TU authority are so inefficient, irresponsible and corrupt they would not comply.

For your kind information if it is not materialised within the next two days, I’ll have no other choice but to start civil disobedience again.”

The senior orthopaedic surgeon at the TU Teaching Hospital has charged the government of being accomplice of ‘medical mafia’. “If the government really wanted to address my demands earnestly, we’d already have a new dean at the IoM ,” said Dr KC.

Dr Kishore Khanal, the president of the Nepal Resident Doctors Association, has also warned of serious consequences if the TU appoints a new dean without adhering to the “seniority and work experience” rule as they had agreed. “We firmly believe in the demands put forth by Dr KC and support him for the better cause,” said Dr Khanal.

Meanwhile, the Education Ministry has dispatched a letter to the TU, urging it to appoint the dean at the earliest. TU Registrar Chandra Mani Poudel said they will appoint a new dean soon. 

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