The central and eastern terai region of Nepal continues to remain hostage to shutdown strike organised by various Madhesi groups to press the government to fulfill their demands.

To mark the end of its second phase of protest programmes organised to pressure the government into implementing the 22-pt deal it reached with MJF last year, United Madhesi Front (UMF), an amalgamation of Madhesi Janadhikar Forum (MJF) and Rajendra Mahato led Nepal Sadbhawana Party has gone ahead with the two-day Madhes bandh beginning Sunday, crippling life in many terai districts in the process.

On the first day of the bandh, mainly the mid and eastern terai districts of Bara, Parsa, Siraha, Saptari, Dhanusha, Morang, Sunsari have been affected, causing much agony and distress to people there.

Life has also been adversely affected in urban centers like Biratnagar, Rajbiraj, Janakpur, Birgunj, Kalaiya due to the shutdown strike. In most of these places, reports say, the main market places including factories, offices, educational centers have remained completely shut while vehicles have largely stayed off the road due to fear of reprisal from bandh organisers. Thousands of passengers of long-haul buses are also said to have been left in a lurch in the highways that traverse through the affected districts.

Agitators belonging to Madhes Raksha Bahini (Madhes Defense Brigade), a “youth wing” of NSP, has been staging demonstrations in various parts of Birgunj and other places to make the shutdown strike a success. They are said to be forcibly closing down shops and businesses and stopping vehicles from plying in the road, and turning violent wherever they are met with resistance.

Similarly, reports from Siraha say that MJF cadres vandalised and later torched a passenger bus in Asanpur for operating despite the bandh Sunday morning. They haven’t even allowed small stalls in the highway market to open.

The bandh in the terai districts has caused Nepali Congress to postpone its electoral mass meeting in Biratnagar, on Sunday.

Yesterday, a child was seriously injured in a bomb explosion in Inaruwa of Sunsari district. The blast was carried out by Madhesi Mukti Tigers to disrupt the Nepali Congress electoral mass meet in the district.

The meet later went ahead amidst tight security presence.

In another report, people in eastern hilly districts including Taplejung and Ilam have been reeling under the “Limbuwan” Bandh called by the Federal Limbuwan State Council from the past three days.

The Council has been struggling for an autonomous state of “Limbuwan” comprising of number of eastern hilly districts including aforesaid two where ethnic Limbus form the majority.

Dhankuta, Ilam, Jhapa including other eastern Nepal districts are reported to be badly affected due to the shutdown strike.

Protesting the arrest of three of its cadres by police for illegally collecting taxes in Mechi highway some days ago, the Council had at first disrupted vehicular traffic in Mechi highway.

Meanwhile back in the capital, public transport operators withdrew the strike they had called Sunday onwards in Kathmandu valley following a commitment from the government during a meeting with Nepal Federation of Transport Entrepreneurs to ensure smooth supply of petroleum products from Wednesday. nepalnews.com ag Feb 03 08