Dr KC's 11th hunger strike longest so far

Published On: August 15, 2017 12:45 AM NPT By: Republica  | @RepublicaNepal


KATHMANDU, August 14: Dr Govinda KC has so far spent 143 days in five years fasting-unto-deaths for vital reforms in the  medical education sector. However, the government is yet to meet all his demands.

His ongoing  11th hunger strike became his longest one so far  on Monday.  Dr KC now needs special treatment in ICU  as his  condition is very critical, according to  doctors looking after him. “ He can no longer speak and is being given regular oxygen with a mask,” they said. 

Meanwhile, Ranju Jha, chairperson of the parliamentlary Women, Children Senior Citizen and Social Welfare Committee, said publicly  on Monday that she would not forward the  Medical Education bill to  parliament for discussion. The team engaged in  talks on behalf of Dr KC called on  senior leaders of the CPN-UML today, urging them to address his demands. Jha belongs to CPN-UML.

Dr KC, professor at the Institute of Medicine (IOM), began his 11th fast-unto-death from July 24; pressing various demands, including bringing in a Medical Education Act. 
The  major demands including  concerning the Medical Education Act are yet to be addressed although talks have been held since the last two weeks. 

 Dr YP Singh, Dr Ranjan Sapkota and Dr Abhisekh Singh are engaged in the talks on behalf of Dr KC with  a government panel headed by Shanta Bahadur Shrestha, secretary at the Ministry of Education.

The two teams are blaming each other for not being serious about making the talks conclusive. Secretary Shrestha said that they called in Dr KC's team for discussions at 3PM  Monday but they did not show up. “Some talks are being held informally to sort out the problem,” he added.

Dr Abhisekh Singh of Dr KC's talks team said for his part that the government  team is not acting responsibly . “We are always ready if the government comes up with a proper solution,” he added.


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