Miscellaneous
Anti-draft protests flare in central Tarai; protester dies in police firing in Birgunj
Violent protest against the proposed federal set-up has gradually shifted to central Tarai.A protester succumbed to bullet injuries in police firing at Birgunj in Parsa on Monday as the sporadic clashes between the security personnel and the protesters turned ugly.Bhusan Yadav
Violent protests against the proposed federal set-up have shifted gradually to central Tarai.
A protester succumbed to injuries from police firing at Birgunj in Parsa on Monday as the sporadic clashes between security personnel and protesters turned ugly. More than 30 people, including a security official, were injured while demonstrators torched three police posts in Birgunj defying the curfew.
Parsa, Bara and Rautahat, among other central Tarai districts, have been the flashpoints of the protracted banda enforced to protest the proposed seven-state federal model lately.
The Samyukta Loktantrik Madhesi Morcha (SLMM) and Tharuhat campaigners have brought Tarai districts to a halt for the past two weeks. Various ethnic groups and political outfits also took to the streets, throwing normal life out of gear in the region.
The District Administration Office (DAO), Parsa, clamped an indefinite curfew in Birgunj with effect from 4pm as the clashes between security personnel and protesters became violent.
Dilip Chaurasiya, 35, of Birgunj-25 sustained bullet injuries during the curfew hour. Police had fired at him in the Radhemai area as the protesters defied the curfew. The victim succumbed to injuries in Narayani Sub-regional Hospital. Chaurasiya was a village committee member of the Sanghiya Samajbadi Forum Nepal. Party district Chairman Pradip Yadav claimed that about two dozen cadres were injured in police firing.
The protesters staged a demonstration till the evening, defying the prohibition. Police had fired about a hundred warning shots and dozens of tear gas shells. Three police posts have been relocated citing security reasons.
The enraged protesters set a government vehicle on fire and also torched the CPN-UML party office at Ramgadhawa. They pulled down the statue of the late PM Girija Prasad Koirala at Chhapakaiya.
Chief District Officer Keshav Raj Ghimire said the district security committee decided to clamp a curfew after protesters started gathering in the prohibited area, vandalising vehicles and even attempting to throw petrol bombs at fuel tankers. A large number of security personnel were mobilised to contain the situation, he added.
In Rautahat, demonstrators torched the old office of the District Development Committee at Gaur. CDO Madan Bhujel said some important documents including citizenship records were destroyed in the arson. A fire engine had doused the flames immediately.
Our correspondent in Bara said that SLMM activists manhandled leaders and ransacked the stage erected for a protest programme in Kalaiya. Joint General Secretary of Tarai Madhes Loktantrik Party Jitendra Sonal was hurt. The enraged protesters had attacked the leadership as the latter stopped them from entering a restricted area. Banda enforcers suspected infiltration in the protest rally. In Mahottari, protesters ransacked the UML district party office. According to the party’s district chairman, Jamun Mandal, some four dozen demonstrators barged into the office and removed the party flag and the signboard. “They later torched the board and flags on the street,” said Mandal, adding that the protesters chanted slogans calling the UML a ‘Pahade’ party.
A Kathmandu-bound micro bus was set alight at Rupani Bazaar in Saptari. Protesters also torched furniture at the survey office in Rajbiraj.
Banda enforced for ‘Magarat State’
PALPA: Samyukta Magar Manch and Nepal Magar Sangh jointly enforced a shutdown in Gandaki, Lumbini, Rapti and Dhaulagiri zones on Monday. Public life was greatly affected in several districts. The Magars protested against the seven-state model that divided ‘Magarat’ into three states. Banda enforcers withdrew the strike in Palpa in the afternoon in view of the local Ropainjatra festival.
Banda in eastern Hills
BIRATNAGAR: Life was affected in nine Hill districts east of Arun River on Monday due to a banda called by the Sanghiya Limbuwan Party. Transportation was disrupted while educational institutions and marketplaces remained shut in Taplejung, Panchthar, Ilam, Jhapa, Sunsari, Dhankuta, Tehrathum, Bhojpur and Khotang districts. The ethnic group has been demanding a separate Limbuwan state in the region.