Agitating VDC secretaries staged demonstration in front of the Prime Minister’s residence in Baluwatar Sunday morning, demanding the government provide security to VDC secretaries working in Terai districts, among others.

Chanting slogans against government’s ‘apathy’ towards insecurity facing them, some 100 VDC secretaries staged demonstration before submitting a memorandum to the Prime Minister’s Secretariat.

The protesting VDC secretaries had requested that Prime Minister Koirala receive the memorandum personally, but could not get an appointment with him.

Chairman of VDC Secretaries Rights Protection Centre, Bhawani Ghimire, said the government had not taken serious note of the issues raised by the VDC secretaries. He warned that VDC secretaries would be forced to go for a decisive agitation if the government continued to turn a deaf ear to the demands.

VDC secretaries announced indefinite nationwide agitation from July 18, the day a VDC secretary was killed by the Jwala Singh faction of Janatantrik Terai Mukti Morcha (JTMM) in Siraha district.

They have also been demanding insurance worth Rs 1 million and martyr status to VDC secretaries killed by armed groups.