KATHMANDU: Nepal Medical Association, the umbrella organisation of Nepali medical doctors, on Saturday, warned that the doctors across the nation would resort to various forms of protests including strike if the government did not supply electricity to hospitals through dedicated feeders.

Organising a press conference in the Capital today, the NMA also served a 72-hour ultimatum to the government to meet its demands.

"If the government forces us to treat patients in the darkness till next 72 hours," NMA General Secretary Mukti Ram Shrestha warned, "We will not have any option to resort to tying black bands as a symbolic protest of darkness and gradually begin shutting outpatient department services."

"We request all the health institutions across the nation to get prepared for the protests."

Shrestha said the NMA had held a meeting with Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli on March 4 to withdraw the decision to cancel dedicated power supplies to hospitals.

"The Right Honourable Prime Minister had requested all doctors and medical professionals to provide health services after directing the concerned authority to correct the unjust decision," Shestha said, "It is very ironic that the directive was not implemented yet."

The Nepal Electricity Authority had been providing uninterrupted power supply until few weeks back notwithstanding the increasing load shedding hours. It, however, recently decided to shut all dedicated feeders.