National
Doti, Dhankuta and Dang protest against state HQs
People in Doti and Dhankuta districts took to the streets on Wednesday evening after the government declared the temporary provincial capitals against their liking.People in Doti and Dhankuta districts took to the streets on Wednesday evening after the government declared the temporary provincial capitals against their liking.
The two districts in Province 7 and Province 1, both of which have long been organising protests and demonstrations for state capitalhood, have refused to recognise the government’s decision to grant the status of temporary provincial capitals to Kailali’s Dhangadhi and Morang’s Biratnagar.
Doti and Dhankuta were shut from early Wednesday morning to build pressure on the government, but to no avail. In Dipayal, the district headquarters of Doti, the enraged locals hurled stones at government offices and briefly seized a police van.
The district secretary of the ruling Nepali Congress (NC), the party’s area president and municipal committee president announced that they were quitting from their positions in the party, accusing the NC President and Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba of letting down the people of Doti.
In Dhankuta, the locals burnt the effigies of Prime Minister Deuba and demanded the government to withdraw its decision to base the headquarters of Province 1 in Biratnagar.
Earlier in the day, protesters had vandalised a motorcycle for defying the banda at Atmara. Meanwhile, the people of Dang has called for an indefinite strike from Wednesday to protest the government’s decision to make Butwal of Rupandehi district the temporary headquarters of Province 5. They also staged demonstrations at Ghorahi, the district headquarters of Dang, to protest the decision. The demonstrators also bunt tyres at different places along the East-West Highway to obstruct traffic.
Local political parties have supported the protest.
Celebrations in Surkhet and Rupandehi
People in Surkhet and Rupandehi have welcomed the government’s decision to make their districts the temporary capitals of Province 6 and Province 5 respectively.
Leaders of various political parties, civil society representatives, businessmen and locals of Surkhet expressed their joy over the government’s decision to accord the status of Province 6 temporary capital to the district.
Padam Bahadur Shahi, provincial committee chairman of Surkhet Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said becoming the temporary headquarters of Province 6 was a matter of great pride for the people of Surkhet.
He added that their aim was to secure the title of permanent provincial headquarters for Surkhet. Province 6 includes the districts of Humla, Mugu, Dolpa, Kalikot, Jumla, Jajarkot, Surkhet, Dailekh, Rukum (West) and Salyan.
In Rupandehi, people organised a Deepawali as they celebrated becoming the temporary capital of Province 5 on Wednesday. Places like Butwal, Manigram, Murgiya, Bhairahawa, Lumbini and Devdaha were illumined to welcome the government’s decision.