Iih ends strike, seals agreement with govt
Iih ends strike, seals agreement with govt
Published: 07:18 am Aug 10, 2020
Kathmandu, August 9 Youth activist of ‘Enough Is Enough’ movement, Iih broke his fast-unto-death today, sealing a 12-point agreement with the government. The government has agreed to increase PCR tests and conduct RDT tests only if they are used internationally or if authenticated by experts. The government has also agreed to reveal details of expenditure incurred during the handling of the virus by following due legal process as soon as possible. The government also agreed to take the initiative to ensure people’s right to final rites of a deceased family member in a traditional manner, reads the agreement document. As per the agreement document, the Ministry of Health and Population has agreed to disclose PCR test results to the public as soon as possible. The government has also agreed to provide additional safety measures including sufficient personal protective equipment to frontline health workers. Iih broke his 23-day-long hunger strike this morning by drinking a glass of water given by Health Ministry’s Joint Spokesperson Dr Sameer Kumar Adhikari. Iih was admitted to HAMS Hospital in Kathmandu on August 3, after his health started deteriorating. Before that, he was staging the strike from the historic Basantapur Durbar Square in Kathmandu. This is the second time activist Iih has broken his hunger strike. Earlier, Iih and Pukar Bam, 30, had on July 7, ended their 12-daylong hunger strike. At that time also the MoHA had agreed to fulfill their demands like avoiding RDT test. Iih, talking to THT after the hunger strike said if the government had worked as per the previous agreement, the coronavirus could have been largely controlled by now. A version of this article appears in e-paper on August 10, 2020, of The Himalayan Times.