KATHMANDU, Nov 18: The health condition of Dr Govinda KC, senior professor at the Institute of Medicine (IoM), has seen serious deteriorating from today. However, the state has so far not responded to his ongoing fast-unto-death.

Dr KC, who is also a senior orthopedic surgeon at Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital (TUTH), began his 10th hunger strike from November 13. 

According to doctors caring for him, his heartbeat is unstable and the muscles are feeble and cramping. “He has been administered oxygen through a mask and an intravenous drip was put in place from today,” said the doctors.

The resident doctors at TUTH on Wednesday started wearing black arm bands at work to express their solidarity with Dr KC's protest, according to a statement issued by the National Resident Doctors Association (NRDA). “We continued our regular work but wore black arm bands as a protest against the anarchy in the medical sector,” said Dr Leison Maharjan, president of NRDA. “We will organize a peace rally in Kathmandu on Saturday in support of Dr KC's hunger strike.”

Around 2,000 patients from across the country visit TUTH every day for quality care at affordable rates. There are 250 to 300 resident doctors at work there, according to NRDA 
Dr KC started his latest fast-unto-death after the government failed to address his demands, which it had agreed to fulfill. He forwarded his nine-point demands on November 13. 

The nine demands include the sacking of Tribhuvan University Vice Chancellor Dr Tirtha Raj Khaniya, appointment of the IOM dean on the basis of seniority, implementation of past agreements, withholding of new affiliations to medical colleges until the passage of  the medical education bill by Parliament, expediting the impeachment of Lok Man Singh Karki, suspended chief of the Commission for Investigation of Abuse of Authority, and CIAA commissioner Raj Narayan Pathak, and implementation of the fee structure proposed by the Mathema Commission.

 
• dr govinda kc
 
• institute of medicine
 
• fast-unto-death
 
• tribhuvan university teaching hospital