Dr KC triumphs

Dr Govinda KC ends his 11- day long hunger strike following an agreement with the government. Photo: Gopen Rai

Dr Govinda KC, known for his relentless campaign against commercialisation of medical sector and admired by many for his selflessness, ended his 11-day hunger strike following a new agreement with the government on Thursday afternoon.

Dr KC, an orthopedics professor at the Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital (TUTH), signed the 11-point deal amidst cheers from his supporters. In solidarity with his demands, doctors across the country had stopped working at the Out-Patient Departments (OPDs) since Wednesday.

The agreement was prepared after a marathon series of negotiations between representatives of the government and Dr KC. On the government's behalf, Chief Secretary Lila Mani Poudel and National Planning Commission (NPC)'s Vice Chair Govinda Pokharel had held talks with Dr KC's confidantes.

Dr KC said it was the triumph of all Nepalis and apologised for inconvenience faced by patients due to his strike.

As per the agreement, the government will not allow affiliations to new colleges unless a new medical education policy is passed on the basis of recommendations to be made by a panel led by education expert Kedar Bhakta Mathema. The Mathema panel was formed last year when Dr KC went on his fourth hunger strike.

The government has also agreed to forward the report prepared by a probe panel led by Jaya Ram Giri to the Commission for Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA). The Giri panel was formed after entrance exam question papers were found to be leaked at the Institute of Medicine (IoM) in 2010.

Similarly, the government has agreed to forward a bill on medical university to the parliament within three months, introduce a law within four months to ensure that officials are appointed on merit at medical institutions, set up at least one public medical college in every development region within five years.

Similarly, the government has agreed to mandate the Mathema panel to recommend a policy to cancel affiliations to medical colleges that do not have adequate infrastructures.

Dr KC had been on a hunger strike since 22 March after a process was initiated by the Tribhuvan University (TU) to grant the IoM affiliations to new medical colleges.

Early Thursday morning, a group of civil society members had requested Dr KC to end his hunger strike, saying that they will always stand by him. In a statement that was read out by actor Hari Bansha Acharya, civil society members had stated that the government appeared to be ready to address most of Dr KC's demands and they were ready to keep an eye on implementation of the agreements.