Transport disrupted

By a Post Reporter

BIRATNAGAR, July 11 - Traffic movement in Biratnagar-Rangeli road has come to a complete halt since the last 18 days due to flood triggered by the incessant rainfall on June 22.

The 22 kilometers section of the highway is undergoing renovation since April with the British assistance. The seven-wooden bridges in this section had been replaced by diversion bridges to be used during renovation.

Flood has swept away diversion bridges at Cheka, Judi and Chesang rivers which has disrupted transportation since the last 18 days.

Residents of around 16 VDCs have been severely affected by the disruption in transportation.

Patients suffer doctors’ shortage in hospital 

By a Post Reporter

BHAIRAHAWA, July 11 -Ramprit Kahar, who was feeling pain in his chest, thought he was fortunate because he was examined by a doctor at Bhim Hospital.

Kahar who hails from the extremely remote Betkuinya VDC-2 of Marchawar area in the Rupandehi district was suffering from chest pain for a long time. He said, "My two friends who had come along with me to have them examined by a doctor could not do so. They were examined by Assistant Health Workers (AHWs). I was fortunate and therefore I was examined by a doctor."

Like Ramprit Kahar most of the people consider themselves lucky if they are examined by a doctor in Bhim Hospital, which is a district hospital. It is because there are only four doctors out of the seven doctors assigned to the hospital. To make matter worse, only one doctor, is working currently and AHWs have to be employed to examine the patients whose number is increasing these days. The Department of Health has been unable to send all the assigned doctors to meet the needs of this hospital.

Also out of the four doctors available in the hospital, Superintendent of the hospital Dr Mohi Uddin Kiduwai who was transferred here recently is on leave, another doctor attended the hospital on the first day of his arrival and was on leave from the second day and the next doctor who is very busy in his clinic near Butwal comes to the OPD of the hospital every alternate day, according to hospital employees.

Dr Purushottam Niroula the only doctor present in the hospital on that day, said, " There are about 150 patients to be examined in the hospital every day. It takes about 5 minutes to examine a patient. Is it possible to examine 150 patients by one doctor?"

He asked what kind of service will the patients receive if doctors are compelled to examine one patient per minute?

Since it was impossible for one doctor to examine all the patients alone, he had asked the AHWs to examine the patients and refer serious cases to him in case they have any doubt, Dr Niroula said.

Dr Niroula said he had apprised the local leaders, regional director and the concerned department about the situation in the hospital, but the solution was still not in sight.

"What could the only doctor of a hospital do? Should he examine the out-patients or emergency patients or look after the patients who are admitted to the hospital or should he carry out official work?" Dr Niroula enquired.

As the doctors’ service is not available in this government hospital, the well-to-do people go to Butwal, Gorakhpur or Kathmandu. The poor people have to depend on the services of quacks coming from the border region of Nepal and India solely for the purpose of earning money. These people visit the poor people from door to door with a bag in their hands.

Dr Niroula said, "The service of such self-declared doctors is not effective. Patients come to us when they are not cured from their treatment after they waste a lot of money. There are plenty of examples in which they have prescribed tuberculosis medicine for patients of cough and cold."

As far as the physical facilities are concerned, the hospital lacks ordinary equipment necessary for general operation and delivery case operation, ECG and so on. There is an operation theatre but no surgeon and therefore the operation theatre is lying unused for years. Patients of minor cases like those suffering from fractures have to go to other places in the absence of doctor.

Member of the Hospital Management Committee and Coordinator of the Day-to-Day Committee Nidhan Chandra Shrestha said the hospital was getting more and more unmanaged and that the doctors were more clinic-oriented. He said, "The wards where patients are admitted are dirty and blood stains are seen in the beds of the patients."

Most doctors are reluctant to come to Bhairahawa because there is no chance of running private clinics.

Prashant Bikram Malla, a local patient who was undergoing treatment at a private clinic said they were compelled to go to clinics after the government hospital did not provide the services. " I realised how costly the clinic is. The government hospital services must be made reliable for the benefit of the common people like us." he said.

Abducted agent feared killed 

By a Post Reporter

RUKUM, July, 11 - Four months after the kidnapping of an agent of the Additional Post Office Kabi Ram Basnet by Maoist workers, the kidnappers have now said that he has been killed.

According to a delayed report, the Maoist workers had taken Basnet to the forest of Timileko and killed him in the first week of June, a resident of Pipal VDC-2 told The Kathmandu Post.

The Maoist workers are also telling people, when they go about in the villages, that they have already killed the postal agent Kabi Ram Basnet. However, their party has not officially confirmed the death of Basnet. His body has not yet been found.

Chairman of Pipal VDC and brother of the victim Tek Bahadur Basnet said the Maoists had murdered his brother and they might have buried him in the forest of Timileko.

Basnet who was recently married was kidnapped by five Maoist workers from his home in February. His wife was also driven out from his home to her parental home, he said.

St Mary’s mired into controversy

By a Post Reporter

POKHARA, July 11 - First it was Gandaki Boarding High School in this town that got mired into controversies, now it is St.Mary’s.

The locals and chairman of ward No 15 of Pokhara sub-metropolis have condemned the school administration for rise in school fees and expulsion of some of its teachers. They have accused the school of over-crowding classes and making the students sit for two exams on the same day.

The locals have been demanding that the school maintain a fixed number of seats as quota and provide scholarships for the students from the ward.

Chief of the School Management Committee Toran Bahadur KC, however, dismisses the allegations saying that the rise in school fees was necessary because "we have not raised it since the last three years."

According to KC, the controversy started when a local Ram Chandra Poudel tried to construct his home overstepping into St Mary’s School premises.

Currently, there are more than 600 students studying in school.

The recent decision by the school has raised the fees. Under the new arrangement Nursery to Class Five students will have to pay Rs 4,500 annually and those from Class Six to Ten will have to pay Rs 5,000 annually. Besides these, the students will also have to pay Rs 1,500 as the admission fee and Rs 1,800 as Teacher’s fee.