Key Takeaways:

• Geta Medical University Struggle Committee and locals oppose fast
• Critics allege hunger strike aims to obstruct establishment of Geta Medical University
• Dr KC argues Shahid Dasharath Chand Medical University Act serves "mafias and associates"
• He says govt should strengthen existing institutions (IoM, BPKIHS) instead of creating new ones

A group of auto-rickshaw drivers staged a protest against medical education reform campaigner Dr Govinda KC outside the Krishna Mandir Dharamshala in Dhangadhi on Saturday, where he has been on a hunger strike since Thursday.

The protesters chanted slogans such as "Go Back KC", prompting the deployment of security personnel to prevent any untoward incidents.

Some locals in Sudurpashchim Province and the Geta Medical University Struggle Committee have opposed Dr KC's latest fast, alleging that it is aimed at obstructing the establishment of the medical university being prepared at Geta.

Dr KC, however, has alleged that the government hastily introduced the Shahid Dasharath Chand Medical University Act to serve the interests of "mafias and their associates." He has argued that instead of creating a new institution, the government should develop the Institute of Medicine under Tribhuvan University or the BP Koirala Institute of Health Sciences into a medical university.