JANAKPURDHAM, June 6: Janaki Medical College has remained closed since a month after the employees started protests demanding their salary for the last 14 months.
Due to the protests, even the medical students have not been able to sit for their examinations.
Coordinator of the Employees Welfare Protection Struggle Committee, Umesh Yadav, said that the college had to be closed down due to compulsion after their plights were neglected by the concerned authorities.
Stating that the college has not shown any interest in addressing their problem, Coordinator Yadav said, “For three years, we were given hollow promises by different committees that were in charge of the college.”
Scrap permission granted to Janaki Medical College: Dr KC
The practical examination of the final-semester MBBS students scheduled for June 2 has been postponed for 10 days. “The examination was postponed because the college cannot operate until our problems are addressed,” said a staffer, adding that, even though the examination has been rescheduled, the operators of the college have not shown any interest in communicating with them.
The locals have expressed their disappointment to the failure of the college operators in addressing the problem of the employees which has not only resulted in the shutting down of the college but also the JMC Teaching Hospital.
A three-member committee from the Institute of Medicine (IOM) had noted down the problems faced by the protesting employees and the college and its hospital. According to Coordinator Yadav, the committee under the directive of the Office of the Dean had inspected the college and hospital and was dismayed by the problem of the employees.
“We explained our problems to the committee,” he said, adding, “The operators have remained out of contact with us for a month now.”
The inspection committee led by Professor Doctor Rohit Pokhrel with members Mohan Baral and Keshav Sharma had met with the protesting staffers, students, and faculty members. “We started the inspection after being informed that the college and the hospital have been closed for a long time,” Professor Pokhrel told Republica, adding, “Everything was in chaos when we reached there [JMC]. The hospital and college were shut, employees weren't provided with salary and the students were all in dismay. We have included everything we found during the inspection in the report we submitted to the Office of the Dean.”
He complained that the operators did not try to communicate with the inspection team.
Managing Director of JMC, Rajesh Thapa, did not answer any of the questions of the inspection team. MD Thapa, along with other members of JMC, have fled from Janakpur since the protests started. According to a source, about 400 staffers have yet to receive their salaries.
JMC, which was once a hub for medical students, could only enroll 65 students in the allocated quota of 80. Students are being repelled by the ongoing protests in the college.
