Nepalgunj Medical College doctors launch protest

 
 Sat, 28 May 2022
 
 Nepalgunj, May 28: Doctors and staff of Nepalgunj Medical College Teaching Hospital have launched a protest since Thursday stating that they have not received their salaries for four months and allowance for 11 months. They continued their protest on Friday.  
On the first day of protest on Thursday, all the doctors and staff staged a sit-in on the hospital premises. The protest has been started at the initiation of Professor’s Council of the hospital, said Binod Mahasetha, chairman of the council.  
Doctors have not received monthly salaries and encouragement allowance from January this year, so we are compelled to protest, said Mahashetha. 
It was not our intention to protest at the hospital, a sensitive area, but we are compelled, as the hospital administrative is not providing us with salaries and allowance, added Mahashetha. 
There are over 150 doctors working at the hospitals under the medical college. Most of them have not received the salaries and allowance for months, said Dr. Arun Mahat, secretary of the council. 
Ram Bahadur Malla, chief at social service unit, said that they are also with the council for the protest against the hospital administration. 
The hospital should address the problem of doctors and provide the salaries in time, said Malla, chief of the hospital. 
The protestors have also warned that they would intensify their protest if they did not get the salaries and allowance.  They have also warned of closing the outpatient department (OPD) from May 30. 
Meanwhile, the hospital administration has said that it was difficult to provide regular salary and allowance to the doctors because of the effect of COVID-19 pandemic. 
According to Kumar Adhikari, chief at the hospital administration, it was very difficult to manage the salaries regularly due to the pandemic. 
Adhikari said that the hospital administration is holding discussion with the agitating doctors and it will not halt any services affecting the patients.  Rising Nepal