The eye treatment centre operated by Mellekh Rural Municipality in Achham has shut down after the local government terminated all contract-based health staff, causing what officials describe as a severe disruption in basic healthcare services.

The local unit’s basic hospital—where it had deployed its own medical officer on a contract basis—has also seen significant service cuts, while the local birthing centre is now functioning with only one health worker. A week after terminating the contracts of 27 health workers, including a medical officer, the basic hospital was brought back into partial operation by assigning one health assistant, one staff nurse, one assistant health worker and one auxiliary nursing midwife. However, the eye treatment centre at the local unit has remained closed due to lack of human resources.

According to Sangita Tamrakar, the chief administrative officer of Mellekh Rural Municipality, the Ministry of Federal Affairs and General Administration sent a directive on October 24 instructing local governments to discontinue contract appointments made without legal grounds.

The move was part of austerity measures by the interim government that came to power in September following the Gen Z revolt, to reallocate funds for the elections for March 5 parliamentary elections.

“The executive meeting on November 16 decided to terminate all contracts effective from November 17,” said Tamrakar. “We even considered removing contract teachers, but several schools would have shut down immediately, so we have temporarily withheld that decision.”

Tamrakar said the rural municipality terminated contracts of 27 health workers, including one medical officer, one radiographer, one staff nurse, four lab technicians, six auxiliary nurse midwives, eight sweepers, three office assistants at the basic hospital, and three staff at the eye treatment centre. In addition, contracts of 21 employees from other service categories—ward assistants, computer operators, technical staff, sports trainers and office support staff—were also cancelled. “In total, 48 employees across health and administrative services have had their contracts annulled,” she added.

Tamrakar acknowledged that the decision has led to a near closure of several essential services. “Removing health staff meant the birthing centre was at risk of closing down,” she said. “We managed to continue services by reallocating one worker each from centres where there were two. The pressure on the remaining staff is huge.” She added that the rural municipality still faces the difficult decision of removing 87 contract teachers. “If we withdraw them immediately, many schools will shut down. We are working on adjustments.”

To address the looming teacher crisis, a 27-member committee led by Rural Municipality Chairman Jwala Saud has been formed to recommend restructuring and teacher management strategies.

Bir Bahadur Thakulla, chief of the municipality’s health unit, said services at the basic hospital have been drastically reduced. “MBBS doctor-led services are no longer available. The lab has shut down. We revived minimum operations after a week by assigning one health assistant, one staff nurse, one assistant health worker and one auxiliary nursing midwife,” he said. “The eye treatment centre we opened a year ago with three specialised staff has now closed entirely due to lack of human resources.”

Health experts warn that the blanket dismissals violate the spirit of the federal health policy, which emphasises uninterrupted access to basic care.

Thakulla said patients in the remote area of the rural municipality have been hit hard. “People are already struggling due to difficult terrain and long travel hours. With the sudden removal of health workers, complaints are coming from everywhere,” he said. “Losing well-trained staff has caused damage that will take a long time to fix.”

Educational institutions will also face similar problems in case contract teachers are removed immediately. Birendra Khadka, chief of the rural municipality’s education unit, said five basic schools—Thapathali, Jankalyan, Navadurga, Janajyoti and Kalika—face full closure if 87 contract teachers are removed, leaving more than 300 students without classes. “Six higher secondary schools running grades 11 and 12 will also have to halt classes because all subject teachers are on contract,” he said. “We have given a one-month pause before removing teachers. If higher-level classes shut down in a remote area like ours, hundreds of students will be left without options, and many parents cannot afford to send their children elsewhere, said Khadka.

Tamrakar assures that necessary steps will be taken after the committee submits its report.