Janakpurdham, February 23

Agitating staff members of Janaki Medical College pulled down the shutters of the only City Hospital in Dhanusha saying they have not been paid salaries for more than fifteen days.

Today marks the 10th day of their agitation.

The medical college currently employs around 550 staffers.

“Although a new team has taken over the college management, they have not paid attention to paying the 15-month salary they owe us. A discussion at the District Administration Office Dhanusha on Thursday also concluded without result,” said Surendra Pathak, a representative of the staff union.

All health services have come to a grinding halt. Hundreds of patients from various rural areas have had to return home empty-handed.

Chief Executive Officer of the college Ratish Chandra Lal said that they were preparing to pay the outstanding salaries one at a time, as it was not possible for them to clear all dues at once.

However, Lal has reportedly resigned from his position.

Authorities had imposed a ban on student enrollment for the past two consecutive years. However, the college was granted a quota for enrollment of 80 students for the MBBS course this session.

The college used the dues collected from students’ admissions to pay interests on loan and cover other expenses, leaving it unable to clear outstanding salaries.

A van that the college had been renting from a local has also been seized because it has not been able to pay dues for a long time. Similarly, college buses rented from Sipradi Trading have also been seized.