Nepal Engineers’ Association on Saturday demanded immediate and unconditional release of its president, Saroj Devkota, along with others arrested from peaceful rallies ahead of the municipal polls.
Talking to Nepalnews during their sit-in protest at the association’s city office at Jamal, Kathmandu, acting president Shalik Ram Singh said that they would be forced to start stronger programmes against the illegal arrest of leaders, engineers, professors and student leaders.
“We will give a week’s ultimatum to the government to meet our demands,” said Singh. We have been protesting peacefully, but if government continues to turn deaf ear to our demand, we will have no option than to take stronger methods of protest, he added.
Singh informed that engineers would launch strikes in supply of water and electricity for an hour and might ultimately go for general strike.
President Devkota was arrested from Tripureshwor while participating in a protest rally organised by Professional Alliance for Peace and Democracy (PAPAD) against the polls. He, along with some professors, teachers and human rights activists, has been given a three-month detention letter.