Medical education reform campaigner Dr Govinda KC was flown to Kathmandu by a Nepali Army helicopter on Monday after his health deteriorated during his 25th hunger strike.

The helicopter landed at Ilam’s Thulo Tudikhel at around 8:45am. KC, who had been receiving treatment at Ilam Hospital, was taken to the grounds by ambulance before being transferred to the helicopter for further treatment in Kathmandu, said Mahesh Acharya, one of the doctors involved in his treatment. He is to be admitted to Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital in Maharajgunj.

KC was admitted to Ilam Hospital late on Saturday after his condition worsened. On Sunday, the hospital held a press conference to say that his condition was critical.

According to Acharya, KC’s blood glucose level had dropped to 35 milligrams per decilitre. Doctors also reported an irregular heartbeat, elevated acetone levels in his urine and blood pressure of 100/60. Although he was given intravenous fluids, KC continued to refuse glucose. Doctors had warned that his life could be at risk if his blood sugar did not rise and urged him to accept the necessary treatment.

KC began his 25th hunger strike on Thursday evening at Narayansthan in Ilam. He is demanding the withdrawal of a decision by the Medical Education Commission to allocate seats for MBBS, nursing and other academic programmes at the Martyr Dasharath Chand University of Health Sciences in Geta, Kailali, despite what he says is a lack of adequate infrastructure and human resources.

His other demands include scrapping additional seats allocated to medical colleges in violation of prescribed standards; investigating the appointments and decisions of the commission’s vice-chair and other officials; and implementing a provision requiring government medical and health science institutions to reserve 75 percent of their seats for scholarships.

KC is also demanding that the teaching hospital at the Martyr Dasharath Chand University of Health Sciences be brought into full operation, contentious provisions in the university’s legislation be amended, and previous agreements to establish government medical colleges in Ilam, Udaypur and Dadeldhura be implemented.

He has also called for the reversal of the decision to scrap the Bardibas Medical College construction project and for work on the project to resume.

The government has said it has formed a task force to implement agreements reached with KC in the past. But KC began the hunger strike, accusing the authorities of delaying their implementation and allowing medical education programmes to operate without meeting even minimum standards.