The eye treatment center run by Mellekh Rural Municipality has been closed due to the dismissal of contract employees. The services of the basic hospital run by the municipality with a medical officer from its own resources have also been affected.

Due to staff shortage, the birthing center is being operated by one person.

According to Sangita Tamrakar, Chief Administrative Officer of the rural municipality, the contract agreements of the employees have been canceled with effect from Mangsir 1, following a letter sent by the Ministry of Federal Affairs and General Administration on Kartik 7. Although the decision to remove the teachers working on contract has been made, it has been stopped for the time being as some schools and classes are likely to be closed.

According to Chief Administrative Officer Tamrakar, the contract agreements of 27 health employees, including 1 medical officer, 1 radiographer, 1 staff nurse, 4 lab workers, 6 paramedics, 8 sweepers, 3 office assistants of Mellekh Basic Hospital, and 3 people from the eye treatment center, have been canceled.

The contract agreements of 21 employees of other services of the rural municipality working on contract have been canceled. Among them are 8 ward assistants, 2 from the employment department, 1 computer operator, 1 assistant computer operator, 3 technicians, 1 sports coach and 5 office assistants.

She said that the contracts of 48 employees in health and other services have been canceled. ‘When the contract employees in the health sector were removed, the birthing center also came to a point of closure.’ We have run the birthing center with one person each from where there were two.’ The employees have also been burdened, she said, ‘We have also had to remove 87 teachers hired by the village council. If the contract teachers are removed immediately, the school will be closed, so we are taking care of the management.’

According to her, a 27-member committee of stakeholders has been formed under the coordination of the rural municipality chairperson Jwala Saund to adjust and manage the school. The service provided by MBBS doctors in the basic hospital has been closed and is currently being operated after a week by managing one health assistant, staff nurse, AHEB and ANMI, said Birbahar Thakulla, head of the health branch of the rural municipality.

He said that the eye treatment center, which was operated by the rural municipality with three employees a year ago, has been closed due to lack of manpower. ‘The basic hospital also does not provide the same services as before. There is no doctor. The lab has also been closed. Service recipients in remote areas have been affected by the closure of the eye hospital,’ he said. ‘There are many complaints from the public about the sudden removal of health workers.’ He said that the removal of long-trained employees has caused damage to the health service.

Head of the education branch of the rural municipality, Birendra Khadka, said that 5 basic schools are on the verge of being completely closed due to the removal of contract teachers. According to him, more than 300 students will be affected if about 87 teachers from 5 schools, including Thapathali Basic School in Mellekh-3 Thanti, Janakalyan and Navadurga in Ward 4, Janajyoti in Ward 3, and Kalika Secondary School in Ward 1, are removed.

Similarly, he said that classes in 6 schools with 11th/12th grades are about to be closed. According to him, Durga Devi Secondary School in Nandegada, Basuki Secondary School in Kuskot, Kalika Secondary School in Hattikot, Chandika Secondary School in Rishidaha, Nandamata Secondary School in Dandasiri, and Pipalsain Secondary School in Thanti will have to be closed if teachers teaching 11th and 12th grades are removed.