12-hour curfew clamped in Nepalgunj; MPRF strike on fourth day



Kantipur Report


NEPALGUNJ, March 10 - Following Friday's clash between locals and Madhesi People's Rights Forum (MPRF) cadres in Nepalgunj, the Banke District Administration Office Saturday extended it's curfew orders from 7 am to 7 pm.
The local administration had imposed a 13-hour curfew yesterday following the killing of Tula Ram Tripathi, a local from Khajura in the district. At least a dozen people were seriously injured in the clash.

The local administration imposed a curfew along the road from Nandani Mills to Khajura bazaar stretch at Indrapur VDC and one kilometer on both sides of the road.

MPRF began launching protests since the past 10 weeks across the Terai region.

In Banke's Nepalgunj, some marketplaces remained open while short distance transport services resumed operations.

Eastern Terai remained affected in the fifth consecutive day of the indefinite strike called by the agitating Madhesi People’s Rights Forum (MPRF).

District like Morang, Sunsari, Saptari, Siraha, Sarlahi, Dhanusha, Bara, Parsa, Rautahat and Nawalparasi have been the hardest-hit by the strike.

The protesters had started demonstrations in Khanahat, Dohabi, Sanapur stretches of the highway in Sunsari since early morning. They also forcefully shut down any open industries in the area.

Meanwhile, in Jhumka, a peaceful peace rally has been organized by the local Jaycees. The participants of the rally urged all concerned people to stop the trend of organizing banda.

In Morang, life in Biratnagar and other marketplaces have also been affected by the strike.

Although a few shops are open, there are no vehicles whatsoever plying the roads.

Likewise, in Siraha, Chambers of commerce has urged the MPRF to change the layout of the protest programs, complaining that the strikes have greatly hampered the business. Issuing a statement today, Niraj Chaudhary, the chairman of the chambers of commerce, said that although he expressed solidarity towards the protests, he urged the MPRF to take notice of the fact that the economy had been injured because of the continual strikes.

Meanwhile, in Birtamod in Jhapa, under the leadership of Federation of National Journalists, Jhapa, local media persons have organized a rally, protesting against the atrocities against them by the forum.

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PM Koirala urges Maoists to ‘behave’ before joining govt

In what looked like another jolt to the Maoists’ expectation of joining a transitional government as early as this week, Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala today said the Maoists would be brought into an interim government only when they correct their behavior.



Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala (File Photo)
Talking to journalists in his hometown Biratnagar Saturday morning, PM Koirala said the Maoists must start behaving according to the agreements signed with the SPA government and return the properties seized by them during the insurgency.

He, however, did not give any tentative timeframe for the formation of a Maoist-included cabinet.

Koirala’s statement came three days after an ‘understanding’ between the Nepali Congress (NC) and the Maoists to form interim government before March 15. (source:www.nepalnews.com)