"We have fulfilled some of the key demands forwarded by Dr Koirala," said Professor Hira Bahadur Maharjan, TU´s Vice Chancellor (VC), adding, "The meeting was unanimous in rejecting his resignation." [break]
He said the TU sent a letter to Dr Koirala on Friday, informing him of the council´s decision. Dr Koirala, however, said that he is yet to receive such a letter. He declined to comment further. A source at TU said that the government has already allocated a special fund to the hospital as per its commitment.
The Baburam Bhattarai-led government, which has since stepped down, had committed to provide Rs 100 million to the hospital to deal with the hospital´s financial problems.
VC Maharjan also said that the council has extended the budget ceiling set for the Institute of Medicine (IoM). He said that council has extended the ceiling to up to Rs 10 million. Currently, the IoM can spend up to Rs 3.5 million without prior approval from the TU authority. TUTH is a teaching hospital under IoM.
Due to budget constraints, the IoM cannot spend money even on serious issues on time. "They can now buy medicines and equipments worth Rs 10 million without prior consent from TU," Maharjan said.
Citing government indifference and lack of cooperation from senior staff at the hospital, Dr Koirala tendered his resignation some three weeks ago. He has been urging concerned authorities to clear the hurdles that make the work of director difficult or free him from the responsibility by accepting his resignation.
Dr Koirala was appointed the director some four months ago to give a fresh lease of life to the hospital that had been plagued by chronic mismanagement and political interference.
Meanwhile, a source at TUTH revealed that Dr Koirala is likely to resume office from Sunday.
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