Talking to Republica Saturday, Dr KC said, “I will not call off my fast unto death unless Prime Minister Dr Baburam Bhattarai, who is also chancellor of IoM, assures me in writting that he will implement the probe report and fill the vacant posts on the basis of merit rather than political backing.” [break]
Dr KC had threatened a fast unto death about six months ago also to press his demands. And since Prime Minister Bhattarai has not paid any attention, Dr KC has decided to carry out the threat.
Dr KC´s fast-unto-death decision comes in the midst of an ongoing strike by a joint struggle committee of professors, doctors and students at TUTH. The committee has disrupted the Extended Hospital Service at TUTH and all classes at its Maharajgunj Campus for the past one week.
However, despite his fast unto death, Dr KC said he would carry on with his duties as long as he was physically able to do so. “On the first day, I will even perform surgeries,” he said. “From the second day onward, I will be joining other doctors in making the rounds of the wards. I will keep doing my duty until I collapse.”
Anticipating that he would have to fast for a long time, Dr KC has already shed 12 kgs. “I have been taking less food for the last six months to prepare myself for a long fast,” he said.
In March 2010, TUTH saw a 17-day strike after students accused the Dean´s Office of gross irregularities in the postgraduate entrance exams. The students called off the strike after the government formed a committee under the chairmanship of former education secretary Jayaram Giri to look into the alleged irregularities. In its report, the Giri committee claimed there was sufficient ground to suspect the involvement of IoM officials in several irregularities. However, no action has been taken against any of the officials implicated.
Dr Arun Sayami, who was dean at IoM when the students went on strike, is now acting dean even though his term ended six months ago. The terms of Maharajgunj Campus Chief Dr Ram Prasad Uprety and Assistant Campus Chief Dr Krishna Bahadur Oli have also ended and they are now working as acting campus chief and acting assistant chief.
Dr KC has urged the government to remove all IoM officials implicated by the Giri report and fill the vacant posts from among senior professors on the basis of merit. However, he has already made it clear he himself will not assume any executive post at IoM. “I am doing all this just to end political interference in the appointment of IoM officials,” he told Republica.
Dr KC has a reputation as selfless doctor among TUTH professors. He is a bachelor and has been spending almost all his earnings providing treatment to those injured in natural disasters. Two years ago, after a massive earthquake devasted Haiti, Dr KC went there on his own to provide his services to the injured there. He also went to Jajarkot district during a deadly cholera outbreak there as there were no doctors at hand.
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