Manipal contemplating leaving Nepal?

Pokhara: The Manipal Medical College administration is being forced to contemplate leaving the country in the face of frequent agitations being conducted by doctors and staff on salary and appointment related issues. The Chief Executive Officer,Manipal Medical College, Pokhara, Dr BM Nagpal, said that depite the Prime Minister being informed, the agitations by the college staff continue to persist.

Dr Nagpal warned that Manipal had been forced to contemplate leaving Nepal due to frequent agitations on different pretexts, despite concerned agencies being informed of the problem. The Doctors of the institution have been agitating about a charter of demands that include permanent status for those who have worked for over 240 days and salary increment issues.

"We are providing services at subsidized costs to the Nepali people. If our need is not felt here we will leave Nepal.” Warned Mr. Nagpal. Utter chaos reins at Manipal, Pokhara, due to the repeated agitations launched by the doctors.

Classes and health services including the out patient department, emergency ward, and parturition ward have been hit hard after the doctors stopped work and staged a sit in to put forward a charter of demands.

Prior to this, the doctors had gone on an 86 day agitation and called off the agitation in between to allow students to finish their medical exams. The protest agitation has now been resumed again. An agitating doctor, Deepak Prasad Koirala, revealed that the medical college had failed to live up to the agreement reached earlier.

“The college management has hidden the report prepared by representatives of Kathmandu University, the Labour Department and the Education Ministry,” Koirala told the Himalayan Times

He said that the college was trying to keep doctors from learning about the report.

A committee consisting of Kathmandu University’s Associate Dean, Dr. Rajendra Koju, Education Ministry’s Deputy Secretary, Keshav Adhikari and Labour Department’s Director, Hari Prasad Sharma had held meetings with the college management and the faculty, and prepared a report a month ago.

The agitating doctors who had restarted their protest said that despite the committee recommendation for the formation of a study committee, the management had not consulted them about its constitution.The committee was supposed to be comprising of one member each from the faculty, the labour office and the college management for suggestions.

Mr. Nagpal said that they had requested the labour department to send a representative and that the management was preparing a data of students and faculty.

"We are ready to abide by the law of the land. We are disappointed by the repeated agitations launched by the doctors," he said.

According to Manipal revelations , out of 79 Nepalese faculty, 57 were permanent; while of the the Indian Nationals employed, 24 enjoyed permanent status.There are more than 800 staff members, including permanent and temporary staff in the college.