Nepal Medical Association, the organisation of doctors in the country, said on Wednesday that its serious attention has been drawn towards inaction on the part of the government to save the life of Dr Govinda KC, who has been on a hunger strike for the last 17 days.

In a statement, the association warned the government that it would be forced to take stern measures if it doesn’t take the initiative immediately to save KC.

“It is necessary to form a team at the earliest to create a conducive environment for talks with Dr KC and resolve outstanding issues,” said Dr Badri Rijal, the association’s general secretary. “The association is ready to play the role of mediator for talks.”

Doctors attending to KC said that his health condition is deteriorating fast.

KC, who first went on a hunger strike in July 2012, called off his first strike after the government promised to fulfill his demands. All of his 17 other hunger strikes have ended in the same way.

This time, KC has been demanding that at least one state-run teaching hospital that can run MBBS classes be established at the Karnali Academy of Health Sciences.

KC, who started his latest hunger strike in Babaramasta Temple, Jumla 12-days back, was brought to Kathmandu on Tuesday on the condition that he would continue his hunger strike at the Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital, where he served and taught for three decades.

However, the doctor was forcibly taken to the National Trauma Centre as soon as he landed at the Kathmandu airport. He was taken to the teaching hospital after a widespread criticism from different quarters in response to the police use of force to take him to the trauma centre.

In a video that circulated on social media on Tuesday, policemen are seen using force on KC to take him out of an ambulance as the visibly frail doctor puts up a futile protest.