Students’ call for one-day strike in two districts on Thursday partially affected life in Lalitpur and Banke, security sources and other reports said. In Banke, police has arrested some of the student protesters, the reports added.
In Lalitpur, most of the shops and business houses were seen operating. When contacted, the security sources said there was minimum impact of the strike in the district.
“Except few buses, most of the taxis, tempos, motorcycles and private cars are plying,” Police Control Room told Nepalnews over telephone at 1:30 in the afternoon.
Asked about the operation of schools and educational institutions, police said they have no information to this regard. Guardians, at the same time, told Nepalnews that their children could not attend classes, as their schools told them to go back.
With regard to an unverified report which said the protesters pelted stones at school buses this morning, the police expressed its ignorance. “We do not have information on it, so far,” the police said.
Meanwhile, reports from Banke said some of the student leaders of Nepal Students’ Association (NSA) were arrested Thursday afternoon from Nepalgunj, the district headquarters.
They were Prem Dhungana, Dipak Gurung and others, the reports said. In a statement, the NSA has flayed the arrests demanding immediate release of the students.
Meanwhile, student leaders have claimed that six of their colleagues were arrested in Lalitpur this morning. Talking to Nepalnews, secretary of the central office of Nepal Students’ Association, Ram Prasad Adhikari claimed that major parts of Lalitpur and Banke districts remained shut responding to the strike call.
He further said students have vandalized some 20 vehicles in Lalitpur and have snatched away keys of another 25 vehicles.
“We take responsibility of the destruction whatsoever occurring during Bandh (strike),” Adhikari said, adding that public response towards today’s Bandh was, by and large, encouraging.
Students announced strike in Lalitpur and Banke following police intervention in their anti-King protests, according to the students.