Rukum, August 23

Citing that their one-point demand of keeping all of Rukum in Province No 5 in the proposed federal model was not addressed, agitating denizens in the district imposed blockade at headquarters Khalanga from today.

The local administration, however, issued a prohibitory order at the headquarters and its adjoining areas saying that prolonged agitation had taken an ugly turn.

United Joint Struggle Committee Rukum has been protesting against the major political parties’ proposition to split Rukum in the new federal model. The committee said it had resorted to blockade to tighten their agitation. The struggle committee Coordinator Tek Bahadur Pun said that they were forced to impose the blockade at the headquarters as the top leaders of the major parties had betrayed them by splitting the district in the seven-province federal model too.

The committee has banned import of vegetables, milk, foodstuffs including transport at the headquarters. Khalanga remained fully closed due to bandh.

Similarly, bandh organisers pelted stones at the DAO, District Police Office and Nepal Telecom in Khalanga. A signboard at DAO was partially damaged. The agitators also damaged the windowpanes at Nepal Telecom.

Meanwhile, DAO Rukum today issued a prohibitory order in Khalanga’s Kalikasthan Dobato in the east, BP Chowk in the west, Office of the government attorney in the north and the road leading to district police office in the south after the agitation took an ugly turn. DAO has directed the public not to organise meetings and agitation in the areas where prohibitory order has been issued.