Way cleared to convert Lamkichuha hospital into provincial hospital

Dhangadhi: The process of converting Lamkichuha Hospital in Lamkichuha Municipality, Kailali, into a provincial hospital has moved forward.

The path for the upgrade was cleared after the Supreme Court refused to issue an interim order in a writ petition filed by the municipality against the provincial government.

A dispute had arisen between the local government and the provincial government regarding the upgrading of the hospital into a provincial hospital. The municipality had filed a writ petition in the Supreme Court on Chaitra 24 seeking an interim order. In the petition filed by advocate Devi Kumari Joshi on behalf of the municipality, it was requested that the implementation of the hospital management committee formed by the provincial government, along with its decisions, activities and correspondence, be halted, and that unnecessary activities and publicity in the hospital area be stopped.

On Monday, a bench of Justices Sunil Pokharel and Nityanand Pandey issued an order not to grant an interim order on the petition.

The municipality had filed the writ petition against Sudurpaschim Chief Minister Kamal Bahadur Shah, the provincial government, the federal Ministry of Health and Population, the provincial Ministry of Social Development, as well as the concerned minister and secretary.

Senior advocate Satish Krishna Kharel and advocate Bheshraj Pant presented arguments on behalf of the petitioner, while Chief Advocate Thekendra Raj Joshi argued on behalf of the opposition.

With this Supreme Court decision, the process of establishing the hospital as a provincial hospital has moved forward. The Sudurpaschim provincial government has allocated Rs 45 million in the current fiscal year for the operation of Lamkichuha Hospital as a provincial hospital.