Tremendous pressure to reinstate Dr Bhagwan Koirala

KATHMANDU, March 5: Locals of Maharajgung thronged the premises of the Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital (TUTH) on Tuesday to mount pressure on the TU authority and the government not to accept the resignation of Dr Bhagwan Koirala who had tendered his resignation from the post of the director citing government indifference and lack of cooperation from senior staff at the hospital.



They argued that the hospital is in a dire need of leadership of Dr Koirala, who, they said, was committed and capable to rescue the country´s´ largest hospital from the mess it is in now. [break]



Representatives of several social organizations and clubs in the area also reached the hospital to express solidarity with the demands of Dr Koirala and urged the government to fulfill them immediately.



Likewise, many employees at the hospital said they were saddened by Koirala´s resignation.



They have requested Dr Koirala to retract his decision to step down. Lalita Karmacharya, a nurse at the hospital, said Dr Koirala´s resignation was “unfortunate” and not good for the institution´s future.



"I am not the authorized person to comment on the matter. But no one should keep mum when it is hospital´s future that is at stake,” she said.



She said that miraculous changes have happened in the hospital under Dr Koirala´s term.



“Staff felt motivated to perform better," she said, adding, “I am personally very impressed by how they respond immediately to the complaints and ever ready to improve shortcomings.”



Bhoj Raj Sunwar, an official in the hospital´s account section, said that employees had to struggle for months to get their salaries, but Dr Koirala broke that tradition. The employee association at the hospital has submitted signatures of all employees to the dean of Institute of Medicine (IOM) to create pressure not to accept his resignation.



“Today, we asked Vice Chancellor Hirabahadur Maharjan not to accept the resignation,” said Narbada Thapa, chairman of the association, adding, "He has told us that he would do his best to persuade Dr Koirala to take back his decision.”



Meanwhile, Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai has directed VC Maharjan to respond to Dr Koirala´s grievances immediately.



Bhattarai´s twitter post on Monday evening said, “Unfortunate that Dr Bhagwan Koirala has resigned. I have instructed TU VC to resolve the issue and persuade Dr to withdraw.”

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