Birgunj Resident Doctors Barred from Campus Amid Escalating Dispute
Postgraduate resident doctors at Birgunj's National Medical College and Teaching Hospital have demonstrated outside the gates after management barred them from entering and ordered them to vacate their hostels.
First-year postgraduate resident doctors at Birgunj's National Medical College and Teaching Hospital have staged demonstrations at the campus entrance after the administration locked them out and ordered them to vacate their dormitories, Nagarik News reported. The escalating standoff follows weeks of protests by the junior physicians, who put forward a six-point charter of demands concerning training conditions, institutional transparency, and administrative conduct.
According to Nagarik News, college authorities issued a 12-hour eviction notice instructing all first-year residents to vacate hostel rooms and return institutional property. The directive, signed by college Principal Dr K.N. Singh and the hostel superintendent, was enforced during torrential monsoon downpours across Nepal, despite official advisories urging people to stay indoors. Alongside the eviction order, the administration suspended all teaching, clinical postings, departmental training and duty assignments for the entire first-year cohort. The hospital management also formally petitioned the Institute of Medicine at Tribhuvan University to recall the resident doctors.
Residents initiated their demonstration in mid-September, but friction intensified following formal interactions with college authorities. Dr Nisha Maharjan, one of the protesting doctors, told Nagarik News that after residents handed over a signed copy of their grievances at the principal's office, the administration forwarded the document to higher authorities as a purported mutual settlement rather than addressing their concerns. Barred from entering the teaching hospital on 27 September, residents picketed the gates with placards, chanting slogans against administrative intimidation and extortion. Approximately 21 of the 52 enrolled first-year residents reside in on-campus accommodation, and doctors reported that hostel staff and security personnel pressured them to leave before the notice's deadline had elapsed.
Seeking resolution, a delegation of resident doctors travelled to Kathmandu to meet Minister for Education, Science and Technology Sasmit Pokharel, Institute of Medicine Dean Prof Dr Mohan Raj Sharma, and Nepal Medical Association leadership. While government and academic officials pledged to pursue a prompt solution, Nepal Medical Association President Dr Badri Rijal and General Secretary Dr Bishwa Raj Dawadi released a joint statement warning that the umbrella body would launch broader medical protests if the junior doctors' grievances were ignored.
The confrontation in Birgunj highlights enduring friction in Nepal's medical education sector, where resident doctors and reformers have long fought against administrative exploitation and the commercialisation of healthcare training. Senior orthopedic surgeon Dr Govinda KC has repeatedly staged hunger strikes to push for systemic reform, warning in statements reported by Nagarik News as early as September 2016 that he would resume satyagraha campaigns unless authorities enforced ethical guidelines and prioritised accessible rural healthcare over commercial expansion. Dr KC previously suffered life-threatening complications—including arrhythmia, vein infections, and respiratory distress—during a fast-unto-death in Jumla in July 2018, illustrating the persistent institutional battles that continue to affect teaching institutions across the country.