Life in Tikapur is yet to return to normalcy since nine people were killed in the violent protest two weeks ago. Normal life has been greatly affected due to the violent clashes and prolonged curfew in the area.

The District Administration Office (DAO) has clamped curfew for the past 16 days in Tikapur. Though an all-party meeting on Saturday decided to resume schools in Kailali district, no schools were opened in Tikapur until Sunday. The schools, however, resumed in other parts of the district.  

The locals, civil society, teachers and security personnel have discussed to reopen campus, higher secondary schools in the first phase, and requested the DAO to lift the curfew from 6am to 12 noon.

The administration has been lifting curfew for around three hours a day. Daily wage workers are struggling to sustain their livelihood due to the prolonged curfew and banda in the district. Chaitu Tharu of Bijayanagar in Tikapur Municipality-9 said many daily wage workers left their village to work in India. Tharu, said they are unable to work due to the prolonged curfew in the area.

“I have spent much of my savings during the banda,” said Tharu, who was working as a carpenter. He added that his family was unsure how long their suffering would last.

Likewise, Ram Bahadur Chaudhary of Bijayanagar said he was surviving on the foodstuff borrowed from his neighbours. “I am facing problem feeding my four family members,” he said.

Meanwhile, many Tharu traders of Tikapur bazaar have been displaced after their houses and shops were vandalised and torched during and after the violent incident. Though the DAO has lifted curfew in Tikapur for few hours, the traders are unable to come at the bazaar area. Chairman of Tikapur chapter of Federation of Nepalese Chamber of Commerce and Industry Ananda Hamal said they could not suggest the local businessmen whether to operate their business.

“Tharu businessmen are inquiring us about the situation on the phone each day,” said Hamal. There are around 300 shops belonging to Tharu community in Tikapur.