Miscellaneous
Province 6 not acceptable without Jumla as Capital: Karnali folks
Seven-state federal model agreed by major parties will not address the historical injustice dealt to the Karnali region by the State if Jumla is not made the provincial capital.Despite forming a separate province incorporating Karnali zone and surrounding districts, the seven-state federal model agreed by major parties in the Constituent Assembly will not address the historical injustice dealt to the region by the State if Jumla is not made the provincial capital, civilian leaders have said.
Earlier, violent protests in Karnali against the six-state model which combined the region with Far-western Development Region to form province no 6 had led major parties to reconsider and divide the state into two. Although news surfaced about people welcoming the seven-state model, civilian leaders say social and physical development in the region is not possible if Karnali is not made the centre of the state.
“Our demand is for an autonomous Karnali state with special rights,” member of Karnali Civil Struggle Committee Narendra Nath Yogi said during a discussion programme in the Capital on Tuesday. “Province no 6 in the current model will not be acceptable without keeping provincial capital in the Karnali zone,” he said adding that their struggle has just lulled and it would bounce back until all demands are met.
Currently, province no 6 comprises of entire Karnali zone (with Humla, Mugu, Kalikot, Jumla and Dolpa districts) and surrounding districts of Dailekh, Jajarkot, Surkhet, Salyan and a part of Rukum. It is widely assumed that Birendranagar in Surkhet will be the capital of this province just as it was the headquarters of Mid-western Development Region.
“Contrary to general opinion, Karnali can sustain by itself as a separate province as it has a separate identity and has the capability yet unexplored by past regimes,” Yogi said. “But if Surkhet is kept as the provincial capital of the state, the region will not see the gains that are supposed to come with federalism.”
Another member of Karnali Civil Struggle Committee and former chairperson of Karnali Development Commission Kal Bahadur Rokaya said the region is underdeveloped as the State did not take development programmes to the area. “Only one percent of the country’s annual budget is allocated for Karnali which occupies 15 percent of the country’s land area,” he said arguing that the trend will not change unless Karnali is made the new centre.
Both Rokaya and Yogi blamed major parties and leaders of Mid-west like Purna Bahadur Khadka and Yam Bahadur Kandel of federating the country in such a way to ensure their victories in coming elections by strategically placing electoral constituencies where they have a stronghold.
The struggle committee has also demanded that Karnali be granted rights to mobilise all resources in its region, rights to sign international treaties and economic privileges like tax exemption for certain period of time.