Fourth round talks today
KATHMANDU, Nov 30: The third day of talks held between the government and a team representing Dr Govinda KC on Tuesday ended after two hours without reaching any agreement due to the stances taken by the two sides regarding the sacking of the Tribhuvan University (TU) vice-chancellor and the dean of the Institute of Medicine(IOM)
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While Dr Govinda KC may need to be admitted to the ICU any time, the talks got nowhere on Tuesday also as neither side showed any flexibility over the issue of sacking the TU VC and the IOM dean.
As in the previous two talks, Dr KC's team stuck to its demand for sacking TU Vice Chancellor Dr Tirtha Raj Khaniya and IOM Dean KP Singh. The government side also did not show any flexibility.
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Dr Jivan Kshetry, coordinator of the talks team from Dr. KC's side, said talks would be held again on Wednesday. He, however, added, “We are not certain the talks will end positively tomorrow either.”
Dr KC started his 10th hunger strike after the government failed to address his demands, although it had earlier agreed to do so. In the course of starting his latest hunger strike, he had issued a 10-point demand. The demands include the sacking of TU VC Dr Khaniya and the appointing of the IOM dean on the basis of seniority,
Meanwhile, the condition of Dr KC, a senior orthopedic surgeon at Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital (TUTH), has become critical on this the 17th day of his hunger strike. Dr KC began his hunger strike from November 13 to protest against the anarchy prevailing in the medical education sector.
“He is very weak, with cramping muscles, an unstable heart beat, fluctuations in the oxygen level and low levels of blood pressure, calcium and potassium,” said doctors caring for him. “He can hardly speak. We have prepared for on the spot emergency services.”
