Jan 5, 2018-Protests over which city or town should become the provincial capital under the federal set-up are breaking out in different parts of the country. people in Dhankuta Bazaar of Dhankuta district in Province 1 and Dipayal of Doti district in Province 7 have been protesting for the past few days, demanding that their hometowns should be declared the state capitals, while fresh protests broke out in Birgunj of Parsa district in Province 2 and Butwal of Rupandehi district and Kapilvastu of Kapilvastu district in Province 5 on Thursday. These protests are aimed at exerting pressure on the government that is said to be making preparations to announce temporary provincial capitals.
In Dhankuta, the locals enforced banda for the second consecutive day on Thursday to press their demand. Transportation service and marketplaces remained closed due to the banda. The protesters also padlocked the office of Eastern Regional Administration and vandalised the Division Office of Urban Development and Building Construction. Dhankuta Bazaar is not the only place in Province 1 that is fighting for the capitalhood. While the Biratnagar Metropolitan City in Morang district has already made its intention clear by organising various rallies and assemblies, the Dharan Sub-metropolis in Sunsari district has also joined the fray of late. A delegation from Dharan Sub-metropolis, led by the its Deputy Mayor Manju Bhandari, reached submitted a memorandum to Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba on Thursday, demanding that Dharan should be named the capital of Province 1. The people of Birgunj have also started demonstrating, claiming that the government was planning to pick Janakpur over their city as the capital of Province-2. The cadres of CPN-UML, Nepali Congress and other political parties also attended the rally to press the demand. Birgunj locals have threatened to launch a strong protest if their demand is not fulfilled. In Dipayal, Doti, the locals struggling for state capitalhood continued the banda for the second successive day, causing hardships for people travelling from other districts. Passengers from Achham and Bajura districts were stranded mid-journey because of the shutdown. The government offices, educational institutions and marketplaces in Dipayal are closed for the last two days.
In Butwal, Rupandehi, supporters of various political parties and their sister wings staged demonstrations, demanding that the city should be named the capital of Province-5. The NC supporters organised an hour-long vehicular strike along the East-West highway as a protest. Vehicular strike was also enforced in Kapilvastu to press the demand for Province 5 capital. Protesters also burnt tyres outside the District Administration Office. Leaders and cadres of different political parties have submitted a memorandum to top leaders of major political parties, demanding that Dipayal of Doti district be declared the capital of Province 7. They submitted the copies of the memorandum to CPN (Maoist Centre) Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal and CPN-UML Deputy General Secretary Bishnu Poudel on Thursday.
The memorandum was signed by House of Representatives member Prem Bahadur Ale Magar, Nepali Congress Provincial Assembly member from Doti Bharat Bahadur Khadka, and CPN (Maoist Centre) Provincial Assembly member Trilochan Bhatta, among others. Magar said they have drawn the attention of senior leaders of the political parties about their demand.b People in Dipayal, the district headquarters of Doti, have been staging protests for the last few days, demanding that the town should be designated the capital of Province 7. The protesters have been riled by the rumour that the government is planning to make Dhangadhi, the district headquarters of Kailali, the capital of the province. (RSS)
Published: 05-01-2018 08:44
source; kathmandupost.ekantipur.com
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